The Sunday News
Wilson Dakwa, Business Reporter
FIDELITY Printers and Refiners (FPR) has received more than 300 loan applications from small-scale miners intending to access funding from the company’s $40 million gold development facility, an official has said.
The security printing and gold refinery company’s general manager, Mr Fradreck Kunaka, said there was a steady increase in the number of small-scale miners taking up loans.
“More than 300 small-scale miners have applied for the loans since we began offering the loans in November 2016. So far we have disbursed around $25 million to the miners,” said Mr Kunaka.
FPR offers a maximum loan of $15 000 per applicant payable over a period of three years. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe availed the $40 million package, which is administered through its arm-FPR, late last year as part of Government efforts to capacitate small-scale gold producers mainly with accessing inputs and key equipment.
The move followed realisation of the increasing contribution of the sector to mining output and export earnings. RBZ has over the years come up with a number of initiatives aimed at improving gold production by small-scale miners, which includes setting up of illusion plants, mobile banking as well as ensuring that FPR accepts deliveries below five grammes from individual miners.
Zimbabwe Miners Federation chief executive officer Mr Wellington Takavarasha said the fund was playing an integral role towards empowering and capacitating small-scale miners.
“RBZ wants to empower gold miners in the country hence the reason it is offering loans to small-scale miners at minimum packages for mining and processing in their own claims. This will enable miners to purchase hammer mills, jaw crushers, water pumps, compressors, jack hammers and other equipment they might want,” said Mr Takavarasha.
According to statistics released by FPR total gold deliveries from gold miners last year amounted to more than 21 439 tonnes with the total deliveries reaching 23 tonnes after submissions from platinum producers. However, the 23 tonnes fall short of the 24 tonnes target set by the Government at the beginning of last year.
The statistics revealed that primary producers (big mines) managed to produce 11 759 tonnes while small-scale and artisanal miners accounted for 9 680 tonnes. Information from the country’s sole buyer further revealed that small-scale miners managed to produce more than the big mines in the last quarter of the year realising an output of 3 163 tonnes with the primary producers weighing in with 2 958 tonnes. Mr Takavarasha said the number of miners applying for the FPR funding was increasing.
“Many people were sceptical about this fund and as a result they were reluctant to apply but now they have seen that the fund is readily available and as such we are receiving many applications from the small-scale miners,” he said.
Mr Takavarasha said ZMF has an agreement with one of the country’s leading manufacturers and suppliers of mining equipment to offer registered small-scale miners with machinery on a hire purchase agreement. Zimbabwe has an estimated 13 million tonnes of gold underground with only an estimated 700 tonnes having been mined from 1980 up to date.
