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Oliver Kazunga Senior Business Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Miners’ Federation willsoon lobby for the registration of gold detectors to curb the smuggling of the mineral, the chairman, Morgan Moyo, has said.He said there were more than 20,000 unregistered gold detectors in the country.
“We are all focusing on filling the reserves of gold in Zimbabwe. All gold detectors in the country should be registered to curb the smuggling of the mineral as the prospectors would be required to use the registration to deposit gold to Fidelity Printers and Refiners,” said Moyo in an interview.
In the 2014 national budget, Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa said Fidelity Printers was reverting to be the sole buyer and exporter of gold produced in the country effective January.
“As a miners’ organisation we are going to lobby for the registration of the detectors to avoid smuggling of gold,” said Moyo, who is also the chairman of Bubi Small-Scale Miners’ Association.
Responding to concerns that Fidelity Printers and Refiners was buying gold at unfavourable rates, a development which was fuelling the smuggling of the yellow metal to neighbouring countries such as South Africa, Moyo said:
“We all know that our government doesn’t have money but I am not saying Fidelity should not pay a fair price. The buyer must improve the price in order to curb black market dealings or smuggling of gold so that people deliver their gold to Fidelity and build our own strength.”
The Zimbabwe Artisanal and Small-scale Mining Council recently said Fidelity Printers was buying gold at 11 percent lower than the international market price and this was promoting smuggling of the mineral.
The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development has said plans were afoot to ensure Fidelity Printers and Refiners buys gold at prevailing market rates.
Moyo added that resources permitting, Fidelity Printers should open a smaller bank aimed at assisting small-scale miners’ recapitalisation efforts.
“Fidelity should ensure that in the long run it has opened a small bank and assist the small-scale miners where possible when they have challenges.”
Since 2009, the mining sector has become the major economic mainstay in the country with 50 percent of Zimbabwe’s exports being minerals.
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