The Sunday News
Dumisani Nsingo, Senior Features Reporter
IT seems it has since dawned on the Government that small-scale and artisanal gold miners play an integral part in contributing to the country’s mainstream economy.
Gone are the days when this class of miners was regarded as outlaws, dodging numerous and relentless raids by the law enforcers as their mining operations and activities were rendered illegal — it was really a cat and mouse affair.
The “fights” between the small-scale miners and the police escalated in 2006, with the police embarking on an operation code-named Chikorokoza Chapera/Isitsheketsha Sesiphelile which was meant to curb all perceived “illegal gold mining” activities in the country.
This resulted in the closure of most of the small-scale mines and the arrest of hordes of miners and their subsequent prosecution. It had to take a group of committed small-scale miners to approach the Government, detailing the importance of the sector towards turning around the country’s economy under the auspice of the Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF). ZMF was formed in 2003 as a body whose mandate was to represent the interests of small-scale and artisanal miners.
Led by the organisation’s first president Mr Nixon Misi, ZMF’s task was to first get recognition from the Government as a body representing small-scale and artisanal miners — a feat that was achieved after years of negotiations between the two parties.
However, it was during the reign of Mr Trynos Nkomo as ZMF president that the voice of small-scale miners began to attract Government’s attention.
Mr Nkomo was ushered in as the organisation’s third leader, taking over from the then president, the late Mr George Kawonza, becoming the body’s longest serving leader over a period stretching from 2009 to 2015. At the formation of ZMF, Mr Nkomo was both the organisation’s Matabeleland region and national spokesperson.
As one of the country’s most experienced miners, Mr Nkomo recalls the gruelling period small-scale miners underwent in their efforts to convince the Government of their contribution to the country’s economy.
“We made various presentations in Parliament in a bid to convince Government of our contribution to the fiscus and the economy in general. The challenge we were facing is that most authorities thought we were just the same as gold panners because we were also using the rudimental way to extract gold.
“I vividly remember that even the then late Minister of Mines and Mining Development Amos Midzi was also of the view that small-scale miners should be stopped from operating. We had to go out of our way to peruse documents at Fidelity Printers and Refiners to prove how much we contributed as we bade to convince Government to be allowed to operate,” said Mr Nkomo.
The Government is in the process of reviewing the Mines and Minerals Act of 1963, as it stands that law does not recognise most of the operations of small-scale miners, hence they are constantly arrested. It is also making efforts to formalise activities by both small-scale and artisanal miners.
“It is worthwhile to note that the Government now recognises the contribution of small-scale miners to the economy and the efforts which it is making to capacitate them. This is as a result of the impressive deliveries which small-scale miners are making to Fidelity Printers and Refiners.
“During the period of 2015 and 2016 small-scale miners accounted for about 55 percent of gold deliveries to Fidelity Printers and Refiners. This was after the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor, Dr Gideon Gono had given a number of people licences to mop up the gold,” Mr Nkomo said.
He said there was a need for the Government to come up with a deliberate policy to empower and promote small-scale miners.
“There is no clearly defined policy on small-scale miners. I am of the idea that there should be a department within the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development to specifically cater for small-scale miners and that way their growth from being small to medium can be facilitated and achieved.
“As it is there is no proper definition of small-scale miners and how they can be promoted into big mines of today from being a small miner of yesterday. Are small-scale miners small by virtue of what they produce or by the claims they possess? Yet mining claims are standardised,” said Mr Nkomo.
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor Dr John Mangudya said the Central Bank 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 Fidelity Printers and Refiners accept deliveries below five grammes from individual miners.
“We have key interest in supporting this sector and we are looking at various means to increase the sector’s capacity as well as having companies selling their gold to Fidelity Printers and Refiners . . . We have plenty of gold underground with over 20 million tonnes yet we have only mined over 700 000 tonnes since 1980,” Dr Mangudya said.
Late last year, RBZ also realised a $20 million Gold Development Initiative, of which over $7 million has been allocated to small-scale miners in various parts of the country.
The $20 million facility is aimed at supporting small-scale miners to increase the yellow mineral production and it also entails the formalisation process of this class of gold producers in-line with responsible gold mining standards.
The Central Bank is envisaging annual gold deliveries by small-scale miners to be at par with those of primary producers by 2018.
According to statistics released by Fidelity Printers and Refiners 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.
