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RioZim Limited is teetering on the brink of structural collapse, with auditors dropping a bombshell report that raises “material uncertainty” over the company’s ability to survive as a going concern.
Auditors believe the company’s survival prospects now hinge on a successful fundraiser, which has already faced some hiccups amid a spirited legal push from workers and shareholders for a recuperative process.
The audited financial statements by Forvis Mazars (Zimbabwe) for the year ended December 31, 2025 — belatedly published on June 1, 2026 — provide a fresh exposé of RioZim’s severe operational distress. The audit findings vindicate the actions of one minority shareholder and workers who have vigorously pursued corporate rescue for one of Zimbabwe’s most diversified mining houses.
Listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE), RioZim Limited operates a highly diversified asset portfolio across Zimbabwe, spanning gold, diamonds and base metals.
Its core precious metal operations centre on three major gold mines — Cam & Motor, Renco and Dalny — and a 22 percent stake in Murowa Diamonds. The group also wholly owns the Empress Nickel Refinery.
According to the independent audit report, RioZim’s financial position has deteriorated dramatically.
The group plunged into a loss of ZiG739,1 million in 2025, widening its deficit from a loss of ZiG628,5 million in 2024. In equivalent terms, the company’s full-year net losses spiked to US$29,5 million in 2025 as its gold production plummeted by 80 percent, crashing to just 84kg compared to 428kg a year earlier.
Current liabilities outpaced current assets by about ZiG2,93 billion, up from ZiG2,49 billion in 2024.
The group’s total liabilities have overtaken total assets by ZiG1,56 billion, nearly doubling the ZiG838,4 million deficit in 2024.
Historical losses have ballooned to ZiG1,67 billion, up from ZiG944,5 million.
The auditors delivered a warning on the group’s core accounting assumptions.
“As stated in Note 33.9 (of the financial statement), these conditions, along with other matters as set forth in the note, indicate that a material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt on the group and the company’s ability to continue as a going concern,” says the report.
“Nevertheless, the financial statements . . . have been prepared on a going concern basis, the validity of which is highly dependent on the company’s ability to obtain sufficient funding to support its operations.”
The auditors took the extraordinary step of warning that if emergency funding fails to materialise, the company may be forced to abandon the going concern assumption and prepare future statements on a “liquidation basis”, requiring a massive reclassification and markdown of assets.
“Should the going concern basis for the preparation of financial statements no longer be appropriate, adjustments would have to be made in the financial statements relating to the amounts and classification of assets and liabilities.
“No adjustments have been made to these financial statements.”
The report comes right in the middle of an intense legal battle over the control of the company.
A few weeks ago, a minority shareholder filed a fresh court application to force RioZim into involuntary corporate rescue proceedings — a statutory mechanism designed to strip power from management and hand over control to an independent practitioner to restructure the distressed business.
This marked the second time in less than a year that RioZim has had to fend off corporate rescue.
The previous bid launched by the Zimbabwe Diamond and Allied Minerals Workers union (ZDAMWU) exposed a massive debt burden and US$5,6 million in unpaid worker wages.
While RioZim management successfully fought off the ZDAMWU bid in both the High Court and the Supreme Court, the latest lawsuit has placed RioZim’s balance sheet credibility under renewed scrutiny.
Management had dismissed the worker’s claims as “bare and unsubstantiated”, but the auditors’ report portrays an equally perilous situation. The report has also triggered separate corporate governance alarms.
Published well beyond the statutory 90-day post-year-end limit mandated by the ZSE listing requirements, RioZim offered no explanation or clear publication trail in its accompanying notes — a move financial analysts say misleads the investing public. Worse, the financial statements omitted that the company has material uncertainty related to a going concern.
Beyond the immediate threat of insolvency, the audit flagged several critical audit matters in which management’s accounting practices are under scrutiny, under International Financial Reporting Standards.
Foremost among these are the highly subjective impairment assessments of property, plant and equipment, as well as the assumptions used to value the company’s exploration, evaluation and development assets, which amount to about ZiG344,2 million.
The auditors signalled in their report that these valuations may fail to meet rigorous international standards. The company is also fighting an uphill battle in the courts, with the audit report disclosing that RioZim is facing aggressive litigation from multiple parties.
Despite turnaround strategies pushed by RioZim’s directors, including a recent production contract with Chinese firm FeiFan Mining at its Renco Mine, market experts note that the company is effectively on “life support”.
Missing out on 2025’s historic gold price rally due to idle, flooded pits at its Cam & Motor Mine, the situation has left RioZim completely exposed to its multi-billion ZiG debt pile.
A recent RioZim extraordinary general meeting passed all the resolutions, including the disposal of core diamond assets to settle a US$60,8 million debt owed to related party RZM Murowa. Under the approved terms, RioZim will relinquish its entire 22 percent shareholding in RZM Murowa for US$23,8 million and sell four diamond mining claims currently utilised by RZM Murowa for US$4,6 million.
The disposals, totalling US$28,4 million, will be executed against a full waiver of the multi-million-dollar loan facility provided by RZM Murowa.
The shareholders also approved the sale of several key mining claims to unrelated third parties to raise much-needed liquidity.
These are Mtandahwe (copper and tungsten mine) for a minimum price of US$3 million and One Step (gold mine) for US$1 million, with a price adjustment clause. The consideration could increase if proven in-situ reserves exceed 400kg of gold, though the buyer retains an exit option if resources are found to be unsuitable.
The company successfully secured authorisation for a future loan facility not exceeding US$35 million. The debt is to be secured against company assets of equivalent value, with the specific terms left to the discretion of the directors.
