Martin Kadzere, Zimpapers Business Hub
NON-GOLD artisanal and small-scale miners are set to benefit from a US$63 million credit guarantee scheme established by the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ) to facilitate access to equipment and project financing, chairman Mr Jemister Chininga has said.
The facility, structured through partnerships with local financial institutions FBC Bank and BancABC, is designed to enhance access to financing and modern mining machinery for small-scale operators, Mr Chininga told the corporation’s 2025 Annual General Meeting last week.
Initial implementation will prioritise chrome producers before extending to other non-gold mineral sectors.
Mr Chininga said the initiative aims to build local production capacity, modernise small-scale operations and integrate artisanal miners directly into formal, regulated mineral markets.
In the non-gold mining sector, chrome mining is dominated by artisanal operators whose activities remain haphazard due to a lack of capital to formalise their operations.
“The board sees this initiative as a means of strengthening production capacity and supporting participation in formal mineral markets,” said Mr Chininga.
“As implementation progresses, sound beneficiary assessment, repayment discipline and monitoring will remain essential to protecting the scheme’s sustainability and extending its reach.”
Access to capital has historically been a significant bottleneck for non-gold small-scale miners, often limiting output and encouraging informal trading channels. By bridging the financing gap, the new credit facility is expected to improve operational efficiency and safety across targeted mining communities.
Mr Chininga said that as Zimbabwe’s mining industry moves from raw exports to higher-value products, MMCZ supports downstream industrialisation through market development, partnerships and skills.
During 2025, the corporation strengthened its collaboration with the Zimbabwe School of Mines to expand gemstone cutting and polishing training, equipping local artisans with skills that raise the value of local gemstones. Concurrent research partnerships also strengthen MMCZ’s technical capability to support value optimisation and informed investment decisions.
“Access to productive equipment is equally important if smaller miners are to participate meaningfully in this growth,” Mr Chininga noted.
To guide its medium-term direction, the board concluded the 2026–2030 Strategic Plan, aligned with the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2) and Vision 2030. The strategy rests on five core priorities: mineral resource accountability, international market development, digital transformation, organisational excellence and support for the Government’s value addition and beneficiation agenda.
Earlier this month, the board and management met in Nyanga to test the plan against performance and to sharpen it.
Mr Chininga said the board is particularly encouraged by the strengthening of Zimbabwe’s mineral resource accounting framework through enhanced mine inspections and mineral movement verifications.
Export monitoring and inspectorate teams stationed at key border posts improved oversight across the value chain, contributing to the detection of illicit mineral movements and the arrest of mineral smugglers.
As chair of the Zimbabwe Stakeholder Consultative Forum on mineral leakages, MMCZ continued to coordinate multi-agency efforts to combat leakages, strengthen border surveillance and safeguard national mineral revenue. Research partnerships in mineral characterisation, improved valuation systems and continued investment in digital mineral resource accounting are improving transparency, traceability, and evidence-based decision-making.
MMCZ’s response addresses both the physical movement of minerals and the accuracy of export declarations.
Round-the-clock coverage at the Beitbridge and Forbes border posts, intelligence-led patrols, and truck-stop checks are supported by independent re-weighing and risk-based loading inspections.
Full mineral characterisation enables the corporation to identify and account for every mineral of economic value in a consignment, reducing the risk of revenue being lost through incomplete declarations.
Under the Minerals Resource Accounting Policy, producer declarations are checked against assay results, weighing records and production returns, while production, custody, valuation and sales records are reconciled monthly.
An unbroken chain-of-custody register supports accountability from declaration or receipt through to final sale, delivery, or export.
Engagements with the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development, the Vehicle Inspection Department and ZINARA have also focused on using existing static weighbridges to verify mineral consignments against MMCZ-invoiced weights, with agreed procedures for discrepancies to be reported to MMCZ for appropriate action, including re-invoicing.
Further proposals awaiting regulatory approvals include mandatory weighing, prescribed transport routes, registration of mineral export vehicles, and containers with seals.
Mr Chininga said digital systems remain an essential part of this effort, with work progressing on integrating MMCZ, ZIMRA and Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe systems alongside electronic cargo tracking and lithium ore fingerprinting to strengthen document verification and traceability.
Security-featured invoices and the reconciliation of export data with internal records provide further safeguards against document manipulation.
“Our objective is to ensure that every mineral exported is properly identified, weighed, valued and accounted for,” Mr Chininga said.
