Zim on course to record gold delivery

Source: Zim on course to record gold delivery | The Herald November 7, 2018

Minister Chitando

Ishemunyoro Chingwere Business Reporter 
Zimbabwe is on course to achieving record breaking gold deliveries this year with the set target of 34 tonnes for the year expected to be surpassed.

Speaking at the official send-off of the gold mobilisation task-force on Sunday, Mines and Mining Development Minister Winston Chitando implored members to double their efforts in cabbing gold leakages and said their activities over the last few months have led to an up sage in gold deliveries.

The national gold mobilisation task-force is mandated to make sure that all the gold produced in the country goes into the formal channels and is comprised of officials from the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, the Zimbabwe Defence Forces and the police.

Its activities, Minister Chitando said, will go a long way in achieving Government’s Vision 2030 by which Zimbabwe should be an upper middle income earning economy and for this to be achieved gold should jump to 100 tonnes per year up from just over 24 tonnes last year.

This year’s deliveries to Fidelity Printers and Refiners as at September 30, breached the 28 tonnes mark.  “We certainly can stand proud to the fact that this task-force, its activities over the last few months has contributed immensely towards the big increase in gold delivered to Fidelity,” said Minister Chitando.

“The Permanent Secretary (speaking at the same event) indicated that gold deliveries, to date, they are actually at a record because we are at 28 tonnes and the projection is that we could actually hit 34 tonnes which will be a record in the history of this country.

“That record, this task-force, has contributed immensely towards that. Having said so, we believe there is still more to be done. We believe that we need to continue to redouble our efforts to ensure that all the gold that is produced finds itself into the formal channel.

The ministry, the minister said, recently had a strategic planning retreat where one of the major takeaways was zero tolerance to non-compliance with the law and this includes as it relates to safety requirements for miners both from small scale operations to large scale.

“Equally important, as you go around, is that the various operators are operating within the confines of the law,” he said.

Government has declared gold and farming and the fulcrum of economic turnaround.