By ZBC Reporter
THE small scale mining sector is bullish of overcoming the challenges faced during the past year which saw gold deliveries to Fidelity Printers and Refiners declining by a huge margin.
The Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) has rallied its members to bounce back from the downturns of the year 2020 which saw their contribution of gold deliveries to the Fidelity Printers and Refiners taking a dip from 67 percent in 2019 to 49 percent last year.
ZMF Chief Executive Officer Mr Wellington Takavarasha lamented how the Covid-19 pandemic played a part in the downturn.
“Our members did not work as normally they due to restrictions though the sector was exempted from the lockdown. Also, the global lockdown on air travel affected the transportation of foreign needed to purchase the gold from our members,” he said.
However, Mr Takavarasha is optimistic of a rebound this year, with his organisation planning massive recruitment of new members to formalise their operations, among other measures.
“Only 16 percent of the small scale gold miners are registered with ZMF so our plans are aimed at bringing more members so that we can account for all the gold produced,” he said.
The umbrella body for small scale miners is determined to work closely with government and the larger-scale mining sector to attain a USD12 mining industry by the year 2023.
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