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By Ross Moyo
Zimbabwe Mining Federation (ZMF) has praised powers that be for giving a sigh of relief to the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector, which had previously experienced difficulties in meeting humongous requirements of 20kg to qualify for the 5 percent gold incentive after making it possible to qualify after producing a mere 500 grams.
This was revealed by the Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF), Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Wellington Takavarasha who told TechnoMag the previous threshold disproportionately benefitted gold-buying agents, as most individual small-scale miners were unable to deliver the required quantities as they would need more time to be reached.
The ZMF chief executive officer said Henrietta Rushwaya’s organization actively advocated successfully for this change and was confident the revision would yield workable outcomes for small-scale miners and the whole gold sector.
By Ross Moyo
“Fidelity Gold Refinery has agreed to apply the 5 percent gold incentive to all gold deliveries made under the new threshold bracket using one’s mine name and indicating that you are a ZMF member on the delivery sheet.
“We believe that this revision will have a positive impact on our members and the sector as a whole. We want to thank Fidelity Gold Refinery for listening to our pleas and their continued support,” said Takavarasha.
In light of thid, Zimbabwe’s gold production showed massive resilience, after attaining an all-time high of 36,4 tonnes in 2024 due to initiatives implemented by the Minister of Mines and Mining Industry Hon Winston Chitando.
2024’s output exceeded the Government’s 35-tonne target going beyond the record set in 2022 record of 35,3 tonnes.
This new policy is with immediate effect and will go a long way empowering ZMF’s members who were previously marginalized, when the 20kg threshold favoured gold-buying agents, who typically aggregated gold from multiple sources, rather than individual small-scale miners, who often suffered a great deal to meet this high volume requirement due to their limited production capacity as they are mere small scale miners.
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