Small miners mull solar power plants 

Oliver Kazunga-Senior Business Reporter

OPERATORS in the small-scale mining industry are considering investing in solar power plants after gold output from the sector fell by 53,2 percent to 961 kilogrammes last month compared to 2 053,6 kg in the same period last year.

Small-scale miners, which produce the bulk of Zimbabwe’s gold output, last year produced about 69 percent of Zimbabwe’s total record of 35,3 tonnes.  

Latest statistics from Fidelity Gold and Refiners, indicate that Zimbabwe’s total gold deliveries for last month declined by 34 percent to 1 895,9 kg from 2 867,9 kg in January last year.

Fidelity Gold Refiners, which is also the country’s exclusive buyer of the yellow metal produced in Zimbabwe indicated that large-scale producers delivered 934,9kg last month compared to 814,3kg in January 2022.  

At the moment, Zimbabwe is experiencing power challenges due to lack of investment in energy projects by Zesa, a situation that has also been compounded by low water levels at Kariba Dam, which provides water to the country’s largest hydropower station, Kariba.

In an interview, the Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) chief executive officer Mr Wellington Takavarasha whose organisation represents small-scale miners, said traditionally deliveries of the yellow metal has been lower in January due to wet weather conditions.

He said last month the rains were more intense compared to January last year, a situation that has also reduced gold output.

The rains make it difficult for the small-scale miners to carry out their operations as the shafts become flooded and difficult to work on due to lack of machinery and technology to de-water the mines.

“The remarkable decrease in gold production by the small-scale mining sector last month compared to January last year, is largely attributable to subdued power supply to the miners.

“The small-scale miners have largely experienced prolonged hours of downtime due to load shedding by Zesa and this year, hugely affecting output in the small-scale gold mining industry.

“As an industry, we are planning to introduce solar power plants at our mines to mitigate the adverse repercussions of load shedding,” said Mr Takavarasha.

Gold is Zimbabwe’s major foreign currency earner and under the US$12 billion mining economy by the end of this year, the yellow metal is expected to contribute US$4 billion.

Zimbabwe’s top mineral export increased from US$1,2 billion in 2020 to US$1,7 billion in 2021 and the increase is due to improved gold output and firm prices as global economies recovered from the Covid-19 lockdowns.

The Government is also implementing a number of strategies in the gold sub-sector and the mining industry at large with a view to boost mineral production.

Last week, Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube launched a US$10 million Gold Facility whose resources is divided into two parts as US$5 million for the Artisanal Gold Small-scale Miners Fund (AGSMF) and another tranche of US$5 million targeted at the Gold Service Centres Recovery Facility.

The AGSMF will support the small-scale miners through loans to issues around mine mechanisation while the GSCRF would support the small-scale mining industry through the establishment of gold service centres across the country.

The US$10 million Gold Facility is part of a drawdown from the Special Drawing Rights that The International Monetary Fund (IMF) allocated to Zimbabwe in 2020.

The IMF allocated Zimbabwe US$956 million equivalent of SDRs as part of a general allocation of US$650 billion that was released globally to all of the multilateral institution’s member States.