ZIMBABWE is to intensify efforts to stem illegal gold flows by increasing surveillance at mining sites, said Bloomberg News.
Citing mines minister Winston Chitando, the newswire said Zimbabwe’s government will deploy teams to mines to ensure all production is supplied to Fidelity Gold Refinery (FGR), the state’s sole authorised buyer.
As FGR is sometimes late paying gold miners, many of whom operate small, artisanal mines, the gold is diverted to other channels. According to the International Crisis Group, an estimated $1.5bn is lost by Zimbabwe every year.
Zimbabwe aims to produce 35 tons of the metal this year, up from 30.1 tons in 2023, Chitando told reporters in the capital, Harare. “The illegal extraction and trade of gold undermines our efforts to achieve these benefits,” the minister said. “The key to realising this target is the plugging of leakages to side markets.”
In the latest effort to devise a credible national currency, the southern African country in April replaced its dollar with the ZiG, short for Zimbabwe Gold. The ZiG is backed by gold, precious minerals and cash reserves.
“Our currency is anchored on gold,” Chitando said. “Hence the need to ensure that all the gold trade is done through Fidelity Gold Refinery.”
In the first eight months of this year, Zimbabwe produced 21 tons of gold, compared with 19.3 tons a year earlier, said Bloomberg News.
