Online Reporter
Online Correspondent
Zimbabwe’s young miners have welcomed Government’s decision to reserve small-scale gold mining for Zimbabwean citizens, with Young Miners for Economic Development (YMED) president Nyasha Magadhi praising President Emmerson Mnangagwa for what he described as a major step towards economic empowerment.
The policy, announced by Mines and Mining Development Minister Polite Kambamura in May, reserves the small-scale gold mining sector for Zimbabwean citizens and wholly Zimbabwean-owned entities.
It bars foreign individuals, foreign-controlled companies and foreign beneficial owners from acquiring, holding or controlling mining titles classified under the small-scale gold mining category.
Under the new framework, small and medium-scale gold mining operations are defined as those producing up to 20 kilogrammes of gold per month or involving capital investment of up to US$15 million.
Foreign investors already operating within the category have until January 1, 2027, to transition into large-scale mining by increasing production or investment, or leave the small-scale sector.
Magadhi said the policy demonstrated President Mnangagwa’s commitment to ensuring that Zimbabweans benefit more directly from the country’s mineral resources.
He said the Government had created opportunities for young people to participate in mining and urged young miners to take advantage of the policy by formalising their operations and investing in the wider mining value chain.
“President Mnangagwa has demonstrated the political will to ensure that Zimbabweans are not spectators in the exploitation of their own mineral resources,” Magadhi said.
He said young miners should also embrace the Government’s requirements for accurate mining title information, particularly the use of survey-grade coordinates.
Magadhi said accurate surveying was important in reducing boundary disputes, protecting miners’ investments and ensuring that claims were properly recorded under the country’s mining cadastre.
The Mines Ministry requires mining coordinates to conform to the UTM Arc 1950 coordinate system and be captured by registered mine surveyors using survey-grade instruments. The requirement applies to existing mining titles as well as new and pending applications.
Magadhi said compliance with such requirements would help young miners build more professional and secure mining operations.
He also said the focus should move beyond extracting gold to processing, refining and manufacturing locally.
“Young miners understand that our future does not lie in digging and shipping. It lies in learning to process, to refine, to manufacture,” Magadhi said.
Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Miners Federation has secured an extension of the compliance deadline from August 30 to December 31, 2026, giving small-scale miners additional time to regularise their operations.
Magadhi urged young miners to use the additional period to complete registration, surveying, environmental and other regulatory requirements.
The Government has said foreign investment remains welcome in large-scale mining, beneficiation, value addition and mining-related infrastructure, while the small-scale gold sector is being reserved for citizens.
