Incentives rev up gold deliveries

Farirai Machivenyika Senior Reporter

Small-scale and artisanal miners delivered 17 tonnes of gold by last month, almost two thirds of the entire 26 tonnes as incentives extended by Government to boost production and deliveries worked properly and fully, Mines and Mining Development Deputy Minister Polite Kambamura said yesterday.

Speaking after a closed-door meeting with small-scale miners, the discussions being part of Government’s efforts to curb leaks and improve deliveries to Fidelity Printers, he said: “The fact that Government extended a plethora of incentives to the small-scale sector has seen gold deliveries to Fidelity go up and this is evidence that we are on the right track.”

Yesterday’s meeting was the third such meeting with small-scale miners this year.

“This time around,” said Deputy Minister Kambamura, “our teams will visit the large-scale operators as well. The focus is not going to be on small-scale operators only but they are also going to large-scale operators to see that they are compliant.

“They will also check on issues of security because there has been a lot of thefts in the gold sector such as the recent theft at How Mine, so they will be talking about issues of security again so that our miners don’t lose their gold which they have sweated for.”

How Mine lost 11,9kg to armed robbers a week and half ago after armed robbers attacked a delivery convoy that was on its way to Fidelity Printers in Bulawayo.

The Deputy Minister said the 25,67 tonnes delivered did not include deliveries from secondary producers, those mining the platinum group of metals who produce gold as a by-product in their final refining process.

The target was to reach 40 tonnes of gold by the end of the year and this was now achievable if production from secondary producers was included. Last year gold deliveries by large, small-scale and artisanal miners was 29 629,61 tonnes, a 55 percent rise from the previous year.

Gold production has also been enhanced by favourable international prices and cooperation between small-scale miners and Government to bring the small-scale miners into the main official markets.