Zimbabwe's gold mining industry urged to ramp up production

Transcript

00:00The mood among miners who previously worried about currency retention, over-regulation and

00:11energy shortages has changed since gold prices began climbing and local producers started

00:17increasing their output.

00:19According to the latest official statistics, gold deliveries for 2025 were up to 37 tons

00:24by October.

00:26That means they're just three tons shy of a 40-ton target set for the entire year.

00:31Artisanal miners have carried the bulk of the weight, contributing 27 tons.

00:37Cooperation between them and their large-scale counterparts is seen as a way to maximize

00:42the current prices.

00:43There are some more bodies which can be mined by artisanal miners, which are not suitable

00:47for bigger miners.

00:49So it is okay to have artisanal miners mine those.

00:51And you are really exploiting the resource, which is what you are meant to be doing.

00:58The often informal operators have been called on to formalize if they are to benefit from

01:02global value chains.

01:04It's to encourage them to formalize to the extent possible.

01:07To operate much more like corporates, even if it means cooperative.

01:12So they put themselves together, operate legally, have a proper structure as a cooperative.

01:18Then they can access capital.

01:20But even with high production, experts warn that Zimbabwe may miss the price boom if it

01:26doesn't urgently invest in exploration.

01:28Exploration is the first fundamental aspect that needs to be addressed.

01:36I think in this conference we have heard all the bankers talking about information.

01:42You don't have information.

01:43That's why you cannot have the money.

01:45That's why we're saying if the exploration is done, the bankers can then fund your projects.

01:55Large-scale miners have also called for more stability and predictability.

01:59The area which probably the government still needs to work on is really policy consistency.

02:06Because investors look at policy consistency.

02:08If you're investing in a mine, you're looking at the long term.

02:11So you can't have policies changing every year or so.