Gold poised to surpass 40-tonne target
SAMANTHA MADE
Zimbabwe’s gold sector is on track to surpass its 40-tonne target for 2025, with gold delivered to Fidelity Gold Refinery (FGR) in the first half of the year already reaching 20,103.5493 kilograms,exactly half of the annual goal, Business Times can report.
According to data from FGR, the surge in output is largely driven by the growing contribution of small-scale miners.
These miners sold 14,561.6754 kilograms of gold to FGR between January and June this year, a substantial increase from the 7,416.97 kilograms delivered during the same period in 2024. In comparison, total gold purchases for the first half of 2024 stood at 13,784.29 kilograms—6,319.2593 kilograms less than the current year’s figure.
The sharp increase signals strong momentum in Zimbabwe’s gold mining sector. FGR General Manager Peter Magaramombe said the company remains optimistic about achieving the annual target, buoyed by rising international gold prices and increased deliveries from miners.
“We are encouraged by the statistics and confident that we will reach the set target for the year,” Magaramombe said.
The positive trend is further reinforced by a 41% jump in gold output during the first five months of 2025, which rose to 15.84 tonnes from 11.2 tonnes recorded in the same period last year. This growth has been attributed to timely payments by FGR and the expansion of gold service centres nationwide, which has led to average monthly deliveries exceeding 3 tonnes.
With international gold prices climbing above US$106,000 per kilogram, authorities have intensified spot payments and rolled out new incentives aimed at boosting deliveries from artisanal and small-scale miners (ASM). The Ministry of Mines and Mining Development is also taking proactive steps to support the sector by creating a conducive operating environment and deploying mobilisation teams to resolve disputes on the ground.
Magaramombe told Business Times that both strong global prices and supportive local policies have underpinned the sector’s performance.
“As you can see from our figures, we have recorded quite a strong performance due to incentives and good measures which woo miners to sell to us,” he said. “We have increased spot payments, we are opening every day including weekends, and we are giving miners money according to gold composition, as well as incentives for delivering gold to us.”
However, deliveries in May 2025 dropped 9.48% month-on-month to 3,488.06 kilograms, down from April’s 3,853.58 kilograms. Despite the monthly decline, year-on-year performance remains positive, with May deliveries up 27.6% from 2,734.13 kilograms recorded in May 2024.
Small-scale miners, who are now the backbone of Zimbabwe’s gold production, delivered 2,552.10 kilograms in May—a 12.77% drop from April. Large-scale miners delivered 935.96 kilograms, a marginal month-on-month improvement but still 11.34% lower than May 2024, as they continue to grapple with high production costs and structural inefficiencies.
FGR data shows that April remains the strongest month for gold production in 2025 so far, largely due to small-scale miners who accounted for nearly 76% of total deliveries.
Despite their critical role, artisanal and small-scale miners continue to face operational challenges, including limited access to capital, informal mining structures, and inadequate equipment.
Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) chief executive officer Wellington Takavarasha praised government interventions, noting that timely payments and incentives have motivated miners to sell their gold through official channels.
“We have been given spot payments at the prevailing international gold price of the day and a lot of incentives by authorities, hence the spike in production. Given the momentum, we expect this upward trend to continue up to the end of the year,” Takavarasha said.
A ZMF member who spoke on condition of anonymity said that government policies have weakened the influence of illegal gold buyers.
“The majority of small-scale miners, if not all, are now delivering their gold to FGR because they are paid on the spot and at a competitive price. The problem with illegal dealers is that they can give you fake notes, which cannot happen at Fidelity. They also claim gold composition in deliveries is around 85%, yet the official market gives a more accurate value of 96%, which means it’s now more costly to use the black market than to sell formally,” he said.
Gold remains Zimbabwe’s single largest foreign currency earner, making a significant contribution to national revenue and employment. In 2024, the country achieved record gold deliveries of 36.48 tonnes, surpassing the 2022 record of 35.3 tonnes.
This marked a 21.22% increase from 2023, with small-scale miners contributing 23,745.6423 kilograms and large-scale miners delivering 12,741.1103 kilograms.
