Taurai Mangudhla
Zimbabwe is 8 tonnes shy of its 26 tonnes annual gold production target for 2018 after the industry produced a combined 18 tonnes in the first half of the year, according to official figures.
The country is now set to beat its 1999 peak production of 27 tonnes.
Statistics for the first half of 2018 show that delivery volumes of the yellow metal to Fidelity Printers and Refiners stood at 2,7 tonnes in January, before retreating to 2,1 tonnes in February.
Delivery recovered in March to 2,9 tonnes in March and grew further to 3 tonnes in April. Deliveries amounted to 3,5 tonnes and 3,8 tonnes in May and June respectively.
In the first four months of the year, deliveries amounted to 10,3 tonnes in the first four months of this year with small scale producers at the time accounting for 60 percent of production.
Gold is one of Zimbabwe’s major foreign currency earners, raking in at least $11 billion into the economy between 1980 and 2016. In 2017, the country produced 24,8 tonnes of gold.
Diamond production totalled 1,8 million carats in the first half of 2018, a pleasing result for the sector given that 2017 annual production stood at 1,8 million carats after doubling volumes from 960 000 carats in 2016. The 2017 diamond production, however, fell short of the Government target of 2,8 million carats.
Zimbabwe consolidated seven diamond mining companies to form the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC).
This year, ZCDC targets 3 million carats, which is only 25 percent of peak production in 2012 of 12 million carats.
In January, Zimbabwe’s diamond production stood at 194 000 carats, before a sharp decline to 119 000 carats in February. In March, production grew about five-fold to 584 000 carats before retreating to 304 000 carats in April and growing marginally to 334 000 carats in May. In June, Zimbabwe’s diamond volumes totaled 294 000 carats.
The performance of the diamond industry comes as Government is finalising a Diamond Policy expected to regulate the industry amid callas for the country to open up the sector to private players on green fields. Investors in the mines that were operating at Chiadzwa prior to the consolidation are also expected to be compensated.
Platinum production for the six months stood at 7 200kg, averaging 1 200kgs. In May, Platinum production was at its lowest at 920kg. Palladium production closed the six months at 6 000 tonnes averaging 1 000 tonnes per month.
Rhodium and iridium production closed the reporting period at 652kg and 269kg respectively. Ruthenium production was 578kg.
Chrome production amounted to 911 000 metric tonnes (mt) while nickel and copper volumes stood at 8 800 mt and 4 500 mt respectively.
Cobalt production was 173 mt while coal volumes closed the half year at 1,5 million mt.
Lithium volumes stood at 32 100mt. Lithium’s performance comes as several foreign investors eye the country’s lithium deposits with several deals already having been announced.
One of Zimbabwe’s largest investors, Moti Group, recently announced it had acquired 150 000 ha of lithium deposits with plans to exploit the resource within two years.
Mining is a major economic pillar in Zimbabwe and its success is expected to drive economic growth, create employment and earn foreign currency.
