Vusumuzi Dube
Judith Phiri, Business Reporter
THE 27th edition of the country’s premier Mining Engineering and Transport Expo (Mine Entra) is expected to be a resounding success with over 250 exhibitors participating in this year’s showcase.
The three-day prestigious mining showcase kicked off on Wednesday at the Zimbabwe International Exhibition Centre (ZIEC) in Bulawayo, running under the theme: “Unearthing Success: The Mining Value Chains, Innovation and Industrialisation Nexus.”
In a press conference, the Minister of Mines and Mining Development, Winston Chitando said they were optimistic about this year’s mining showcase.
“Mine Entra 2024 runs from today (Wednesday) until Friday. It will be officially opened by President Mnangagwa tomorrow (Thursday). Today (Wednesday) was a buyers and sellers day and there was also the interface between suppliers on a forum,” he said.
“The main objective of Mine Entra 2024 is to have suppliers from different parts of the world come and display their equipment, products and services to ensure that where they are competitive in terms of costs and quality that they find ready markets.”
He said much more important was for the local providers of goods and services to showcase what they have and drive the Buy Zimbabwe initiative where the goods and services are locally provided.
Minister Chitando said some of the initiatives that the Chamber of Mines Zimbabwe had been undertaking was to promote local entrepreneurship.
“We are increasingly getting a significant number of our products, goods and services provided from within Zimbabwe. We do have a large number of exhibitors around this year of 250 up from just over 200 last year and 19 international exhibitors up from 12,” he added.
“It’s increasing in terms of the participation, the providers of goods and services are also increasing. I am pleased to note that there is a significant representation of Chamber of Mines Zimbabwe membership in terms of the individual members and also the members of the executive committee.”
The Minister said after the official opening of Mine Entra 2024 to be presided over by President Mnangagwa on Thursday, on Friday there was a session dedicated to small scale miners.
He said small scale miners also played a key role in the mining sector and their conference would bring attention to the crucial role they play in the economy.
Mine Entra 2024 seeks to unveil new opportunities, strengthen value chains, drive innovation and promote industrialisation in the mining sector and related industries.
Mining has been a crucial driving force in Zimbabwe’s economy, making a significant impact by contributing 13 percent to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) over the past few years.
Furthermore, it has been a major contributor to the country’s export earnings, accounting for a staggering 75 percent of its total exports. In December last year, the mining industry generated more than US$20 billion from mineral exports since 2017 making it the biggest contributor of foreign currency. The Government has set a new US$40 billion by 2030 target for the mining sector.
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