Online Reporter
Patrick Chitumba
Features Writer
In 2022, 43-year-old Rudo Choice Shumba walked away from her first gold pour with just US$400 after investing thousands of dollars.
Many would have abandoned mining after such a crushing loss. Instead, Rudo chose to learn.
Less than three years later, she is the founder and chief executive of Blackspider Enterprises, overseeing mining operations in Bindura, Mashonaland Central Province, and Chikuti in Mashonaland West.
Along the way, she has created jobs, paid school fees for relatives, mentored aspiring miners and become part of a growing movement of women transforming Zimbabwe’s mining sector.
Her story is one of resilience, determination and purpose. Flashing back to 2022, the unforgiving sun beat down on a small plot at Simoona Farm in Bindura.
There was no running water, no vehicle and no mine claim she could call her own. Her only assets were US$5 000, a hammer mill, a wooden shed and an unwavering resolve.
Inspired by her middle name, Choice, she ventured into mining, an industry long dominated by men.
Today, Blackspider Enterprises employs local people, mentors young miners and is helping reshape perceptions of women in the sector.
“I started mining in 2022 at Simoona, Bindura, on my brother’s land. I was leaching. It was just me, my son, my sister’s son and one manager. To us, it was more of a family business, so my son had to stay at the mine,” she said.
Those early days were defined by hardship. Water had to be drawn from a nearby river, while she paid US$10 for every 20 000 litres delivered to the site.
Fuel costs mounted daily and, without her own gold claim, she depended on artisanal miners to supply ore for processing.
“Whenever I would go to the mine, I would make sure I was participating 100 percent. Things were not always rose,” she said.
Her first leaching operation involved 40 tonnes of ore and quickly became an expensive lesson. Copper contamination meant additional chemicals, more treatment and greater costs.
After nine days, the moment of truth arrived.
“It wasn’t what we expected considering what we had put in. I made a very big loss. I got around US$4 000, yet I had invested more,” she recalled.
“I also needed to make boiler payments plus chemicals. I went home with US$400. I was heartbroken.”
Rather than surrender, Rudo adapted. As confidence in her operation grew, artisanal miners increasingly brought their ore for processing. Blackspider also began purchasing gold from them before selling it to Fidelity Gold Refinery, creating a sustainable business model that expanded production and generated employment.
“What began as a family operation gradually created employment for many locals,” she said.
She credits policy reforms under the Second Republic for opening opportunities for small-scale miners and allowing them to trade directly with Fidelity Gold Refinery, bringing greater stability and legitimacy to their operations.
For Rudo, however, success extends beyond financial gain.
“It has been such a blessing. I have managed to send relatives to school and buy properties,” she said.
“I have achieved financial independence, a better life for my children and for others around me. I have also achieved honour from fellow miners.”
Mining has become a family enterprise. She credits her uncle, Petros Shumba, for inspiring her journey and her brother, Obert Shumba, for guiding her along the way.
“I have always loved mining. Besides its monetary value, I do it for the love of it,” she said.
Beyond mining
Rudo’s ambitions extend beyond extracting gold. Through Women in Mining Zimbabwe (WIMa) and the Young Miners Foundation, she received training that transformed her understanding of the industry and strengthened her business.
Her contribution has since earned recognition, including an award from the Young Miners Foundation.
Yet accolades were never the destination. Reflecting on the challenges she encountered as a woman entering mining, she resolved to help others avoid the mistakes she made.
“After all the challenges that I faced as a woman and as a miner, I decided to hold seminars so that people can engage in mining with a clear mind,” she said.
Those seminars have become one of Blackspider Enterprises’ flagship initiatives, taking practical mining education to communities across Zimbabwe.
The inaugural seminar, held in November 2025, brought together experts from the Criminal Investigations Department Minerals Unit, Women in Mining Zimbabwe, the Young Miners Foundation, SHE and other stakeholders to share knowledge on responsible and sustainable mining.
The impact was immediate. Following the seminar, Blackspider supported a group of 20 women, men and youths by providing access to mining ground and equipment as they embarked on their own ventures.
“We have taken this seminar programme as one of our new baby projects – educating and empowering all genders that want to start mining,” she said.
Expanding opportunities
Blackspider’s footprint has since expanded beyond Bindura to include another gold project in Chikuti.
“It is not easy, but with patience and dedication we can take it far,” she said.
Like many women in the sector, she continues to face challenges ranging from limited access to finance and equipment to inadequate institutional support.
“Not only am I mining in Bindura, but I have also started a project in Chikuti, mining gold as well,” she said.
“We face many problems and obstacles as women in mining, which include funding and general support. Something that we pray one day will come through.”
Despite these obstacles, she remains grateful for Government initiatives that have broadened participation in mining.
“However, we are grateful to our Government and to President Mnangagwa, baba vedu, for giving women the opportunity to be recognised as miners, and for recognising small-scale miners and allowing us to also trade with Fidelity Gold Refinery. For this, we are truly grateful,” she said.
A legacy beyond gold
Today, Blackspider Enterprises represents more than a mining company. It stands as proof that humble beginnings need not define one’s future.
From a US$5 000 investment, a hammer mill and water fetched from a river, Rudo has built a business that creates employment, supports education and equips others with the knowledge to succeed.
Her greatest satisfaction now comes from mentoring the next generation.
“I want people to engage with a clear mind. Mining can give you ups and downs. But if you are prepared, you can survive and you can grow,” she said.
Her journey mirrors a broader transformation taking place across Zimbabwe’s mining sector, where more women are venturing beyond gold into semi-precious stones, value addition and entrepreneurship.
According to Dr Faith Mutete, public health specialist and founder and chief executive of Women in Mining Zimbabwe, women are increasingly driving innovation and growth within the industry.
“Zimbabwe’s female miners are moving past gold and into semi-precious stones and value addition, reshaping the sector in the process,” she said.
“Policy reforms and new opportunities are behind the change, which is raising incomes, strengthening communities, and advancing the country’s agenda for beneficiation and industrialisation within mining.”
From taking home just US$400 after her first gold pour to leading mining operations in two provinces, Rudo Choice Shumba’s journey is far from over.
What is already beyond doubt is that she transformed disappointment into determination, and from determination into opportunity.
In doing so, she is ensuring that the path she carved through the dust remains open for the next woman, the next young miner and the next family seeking a better future through Zimbabwe’s mining industry.
