Online Reporter
Nqobile Bhebhe
Zimpapers Business Hub
Zimbabwe’s mining industry is increasingly creating opportunities for local suppliers, but the manufacturing sector is failing to fully capitalise on the multi-billion-dollar procurement market.
This follows revelations that only US$410 million worth of mining inputs are being manufactured locally despite the sector spending US$3.4 billion on goods and services.
The findings emerged at the Mine Entra Suppliers Symposium in Bulawayo on Wednesday, where Government and industry leaders challenged local manufacturers to increase production capacity and deepen participation in the mining value chain to accelerate industrialisation and maximise value retention.
Speaking during the symposium, held under the theme “Enhancing Local Content in the Mining Value Chain,” Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe chief executive officer, Dr Isaac Kwesu, said the mining industry has become a major driver of demand for locally sourced goods and services.
Most of the mining companies’ expenditure, however, is spent on foreign suppliers.
He said the Chamber’s 2025 State of the Mining Industry Survey showed that of the US$8.4 billion generated by the mining industry in 2025, approximately US$3.4 billion, representing 40 percent of total industry revenue, was spent on suppliers providing products and services, electric power, machinery, transport, chemicals and other critical mining inputs.
Dr Kwesu said local procurement now accounts for about 70 percent of mining companies’ procurement expenditure.
“While it is commendable that 70 percent is sourced locally, it is still worrisome that only 70 percent of this figure, US$410 million, is manufactured locally.
“In other words, of the US$3.4 billion, only US$410 million was manufactured locally, with the balance largely constituting imported products distributed through local suppliers.”
He said the figures demonstrate the urgent need to strengthen Zimbabwe’s manufacturing base so that more mining inputs are produced locally, allowing the country to retain greater value, create employment and stimulate industrial growth.
