TINASHE MAKICHI
The Chamber of Mines Zimbabwe (CoMZ) is planning to set up a one stop resource centre in collaboration with various stakeholders, which is expected to play a critical role in assisting the government towards attaining its target of a US$12bn mining sector by 2023.
CoMZ past president, Elizabeth Nerwande said the mining resource centre would bring fluidity and proper access to resource information for investors.
“We are working in collaboration with various stakeholders in setting up a one stop resource centre key in easing access to resource information for investors. How this will be done will be communicated through the chamber.
“There is also a need for the government to make effective alignment between monetary and mining policies,” Nerwande told the miners at the Annual General Meeting and conference in Victoria Falls last Friday.
Nerwande said mining user fees have become a burden and there was an urgent need for streamlining of some of the fees to aid flexibility on the operations of various miners.
“The user fees have become a huge burden and they require streamlining. CoMZ with other stakeholders is working towards developing local content guidelines for the mining industry which will support the empowerment aspiration of the country.”
Nerwande said mining companies however expect an 11% growth output in the second half this year after seeing production fall across key minerals in the first quarter.
According to Nerwande, overall production fell 4.7% last year, weighed down by the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and other challenges while production fell across key minerals in the first quarter.
Volume declines over the 12 months to December 2020 were recorded in gold, lithium, high carbon ferro-chrome, chrome ore and copper while platinum, palladium, rhodium, diamonds and cobalt registered expansion.
“Despite the subdued first quarter performance we anticipate that the mining sector will have a rebound and grow by 11 percent in the second half and attain the annual targets that we have,” Nerwande said.
