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Martin Kadzere Senior Business Reporter
GOLD deliveries to Fidelity Printers and Refiners, the country’s sole buyer of the mineral, reached nearly four tonnes in four months to April this year, official statistics show.
The deliveries from primary producers stood at 3,175 tonnes while small-scale miners delivered about 762,3kg, latest statistics obtained from Fidelity Printers and Refiners show.
Fidelity Printers resumed gold refining in December last year since 2008 and the country will be seeking re-admission on the London Bullion Market Association this year.
Before resuming gold refining, all gold was being exported unrefined and this, among other things negatively affected the local jewellery industry as it resorted to importing refined gold and silver.
With national deliveries surpassing 10 tonnes in 2012 and 2013, coupled with the resumption of refining, the refinery should be on course for LBMA re-accreditation.
This will be on condition that all the gold being delivered through the formal channels is refined prior to export.
The resumption of refining comes with a number of positives for the country including providing feedstock for the resuscitation of the local jewellery industry as well as increasing the cost competitiveness of the local product on both local and international markets.
As the quantities of refined gold and silver increase, employment will also be created as the company and jewellers boost their operations.
The highest delivery from primary producers was recorded in April at 827kg from 802,5kg a month earlier. About 784,3kg was delivered in January and 761,1kg in February.
From small-scale producers, deliveries steadily rose from 142,5kg in January to 169,7kg in February and 237,9kg in March but declined in April to 212,2kg.
Freda Rebecca, a unit of Pan-African mining group, Mwana Africa delivered 564,7kg followed by Metallon Gold’s How Mine which delivered about 555kg.
Caledonia delivered 427,8kg while Metallon’s Shamva delivered 217,4kg.
The Metallon Gold Mines including Redwing and Mazowe mines contributed a third of the total deliveries (1,3 tonnes), making it Zimbabwe’s largest gold producer.
Fidelity Printers has stepped up efforts to have gold buying centres across the country and it has incorporated ZB Bank as its gold purchasing partner.
The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development is also in the process of coming up with a framework that will ensure all gold producers have access to gold buying centres.
This will be done to ensure accessibility especially to small-scale and artisanal miners who sometimes resort to smuggling.
In three months to March this year, gold accounted for more than 30 percent of the total value of minerals produced in 2013. As such, the Government is targeting to be one of the top five gold producing countries in Africa within the next three years.
In addition Zimbabwe has over 20 000 gold panners whose output, if properly accounted for, would significantly increase the country’s gold output. With adequate investment, gold production could reach 50 tonnes in the next five years, according to the Chamber of Mines.
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