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Ishemunyoro Chingwere Business Reporter
GOVERNMENT has said investment into the mining sector, especially in underutilised and dormant mining assets, is critical in helping Zimbabwe attain Vision 2030 of an upper middle income society.
This was said by Mines and Mining Development Minister Winston Chitando last week in Australia, on the sidelines of the Africa Down Under (ADU) mining event.
ADU is an African-focused mining event designed to draw capital’s attention to abundant mining opportunities on the mineral-rich continent. Minister Chitando said Zimbabwe was on a global drive to lure high quality investment under the “Zimbabwe is Open for Business” policy.
Zimbabwe wants to increase mineral earnings from US$4 billion last year to US$12 billion by 2023. “We have in the mining industry, as a milestone towards the achievement of President Mnangagwa’s 2030 Vision; a milestone of a US$12 billion mining industry, up from US$2,7 billion in 2017,” he said.
“It is absolutely important to emphasise that when we talk of the increase from US$2,7 billion to US$12 billion, it is because it is capital which is coming in to spearhead that growth, and that capital is only coming in through the ‘Zimbabwe is Open for Business’ policy.”
Minister Chitando said participation in events such as ADU presented Zimbabwe with an opportunity to interact with investors and sell its areas requiring investment for the achievement of the US$12 billion mining revenue target in just over three-and-a-half years.
This year’s edition of ADU attracted over 1 500 delegates comprising investors, mining equipment suppliers, different companies and government representatives from across Africa. Minister Chitando said Zimbabwe and the rest of the African continent had numerous mining assets that were not being optimally exploited due to lack of capital, hence the need for foreign investors to swiftly grab such opportunities to grow their portfolios.
“What we have in Africa in general, and in Zimbabwe in particular, is that we do have lots of assets (mines) and these assets are not fully developed (and) what we do have at Africa Down Under are entities with capital looking for a home to get a return to stakeholders,” he said.
“So, that interaction between the countries with the resources and the fund managers with capital is absolutely important so that the assets we have, the mineral wealth we have, is extracted for the benefit of development of our countries.”
Online Reporter