Small miners urged to join hands for viability

growth in the mining sector, an official said over the weekend.
Low contribution by small miners, who form the bulk of the mining industry, is one of the challenges slowing the growth of the sector, according to experts.
The sector, which recorded growth of 47 percent last year, is this year expected to grow by 44 percent.
The contribution of the more than 10 000 registered small scale miners to overall output has over the years been low owing to unavailability of machinery and capital.
Minerals economist and vice chairman of the University of Zimbabwe’s Institute of Mining Research Mr Lyman Mlambo told New Ziana that if small miners could combine their holdings, they could easily access services and other resources that were not available to individual claims.
“The use of shovels and wheelbarrows as well as exploitation on a smaller scale are curbing growth.
“For viability, small claims have to form single large-scale operations that inspire confidence of financial institutions and can be worked by gigantic modern-day equipment,” he said.
“Mining equipment, because it is mostly produced by international companies, is large scale in nature and expensive.
“Small players even if they are to find capital to procure machinery, cannot use the kind of equipment in existence as it is not suitable for small claims,” he said.
According to the Zimbabwe Miners’ Federation, which represents small-scale miners, the number of small-scale miners operating viably in the last decade has not been more than 40 percent.
ZMF has said gold claims from half of the small players, if fully exploited, had the potential to produce an average 30 000 ounces a year. – New Ziana.