Gold  deliveries to Fidelity fall 12%

LIVINGSTONE MARUFU

Gold deliveries to Fidelity Gold Refinery (FGR), the country’s sole buyer and marketer of the yellow metal,  fell 12.4% to 22.47 tonnes  in the first nine months of  this year  from 25.66 tonnes delivered  the prior comparative period, largely due to heavy rains in January and February.

The decline was confirmed by FGR general manager Peter Magaramombe.

However, he is confident that the 40 tonnes goal will be achieved as gold extraction moves into its peak season.

“During the nine months of the year, a total of 22.465 tonnes of gold were delivered  against 25.66 tonnes following heavy rains in January and February which affected production,” Magaramombe said.

Small-scale miners delivered 13.84 tonnes which  represented 61.87%, while large-scale gold producers made up the remainder.

According to analysts, new policies must be implemented in order to increase production and take advantage of stable commodity prices, which were above US$62 000 at the beginning of the year.

FGR has come up with a number of measures which include opening the headquarters during weekends, increasing gold buying centres and agents across the country  and reducing payment time to ensure working capital is always available for miners.

FGR resolved to pay  small scale miners  on spot and the large scale miners will be paid within the banks time of processing as cash is now available at all times.

“With these measures, we will see where we will be by the end of the year. We will say we haven’t reached the target after December 31 2023,” Magaramombe said.

According to mining executives, the main production hindrances are power outages, high costs, a lack of foreign currency, a lack of capital, and outdated machinery and equipment.

Another aspect that miners predicted would have an adverse effect on mining performance in 2023 was taxes and other financial obligations.

Because of increased royalties and other fees as well as the potential for lingering problematic tax issues, the majority of mining executives believe that the tax system will get worse in 2023.

They are also anticipating   foreign currency shortages to worsen this year.

The majority of respondents said they had trouble getting enough foreign currency to cover their operations and predicted that the situation would be difficult in 2023.

Respondent mining executives indicated that the 2023 production targets are premised on ongoing expansion projects and favourable commodity prices.