Gold export earnings fall 19% in Q1
LIVINGSTONE MARUFU
Zimbabwe’s gold export earnings fell 19% to US$376.73m in the first quarter of 2023 from US$463.10m attained in the prior comparative period, attributed to low deliveries to the country’s sole buyer and marketer of the yellow metal Fidelity Gold Refinery (FGR).
Gold deliveries to FGR in the Q1 plunged 20% to 6.194 tonnes from 7.694 tonnes delivered during the same period last year weighed down by heavy rains, which affected mining.
“During Q1 of 2023, gold prices on the international market were around US$60 000 per kilogramme but what affected the bullion export receipts was the fell in gold output to 6.194 tonnes from 7.694 tonnes delivered during the comparable period last year due to heavy rains during the earlier months of the year,” FGR general manager Peter Magaramombe told Business Times.
The plunge in gold export receipts comes at a time when the Qatar headquartered broadcasting network Al Jazeera exposed how gold was smuggled out of Zimbabwe through illicit deals thereby robbing the country over US$1.2bn in potential revenue.
Magaramombe said the rains have heavily impacted the small-scale gold miners, who contributed over 60% of the total gold production, as they are failing to mine due to high water levels.
Large-scale producers delivered 2.762 tonnes while small-scale miners delivered 3.431 tonnes to FGR in Q1.
FGR is advocating for the capacitation of artisanal and small-scale miners to ramp up production in the wake of heavy rains.
In January this year, Finance and Economic Development Minister, Mthuli Ncube unveiled a US$10m loan facility for small-scale miners to boost production as the government targets an output of 60 tonnes this year.
The loan facility has a tenure of between three and six years.
The first US$5m is for artisanal gold small-scale miners’ funds while the other US$5m is for a gold service centre revolving facility.
The facility comes at a time when investment in the mining sector is limited as most investors are reluctant to support the artisanal and small-scale miners due to the inherent risk and complex way of doing business by these miners.
The US$5m gold service centre revolving facility will result in the construction of six gold service centres to improve access to critical facilities by artisanal gold small-scale miners.
The implementing agency for the gold service centre revolving facility will be the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation.
The US$5m artisanal gold miners’ facility will be accessed through the Mining Loan Fund, which is administered by the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development.
