The Sunday News
Judith Phiri, Business Reporter
THE Young Miners Foundation (YMF) is working on setting up a young miners’ academy in Zvishavane as part of efforts to accelerate skills development and professionalism among budding miners.
This comes at a time when most young small-scale and artisanal miners who lack skills are injured, trapped or die when mining shafts they are working in collapse.
In an interview, Young Miners Foundation (YMF) chief executive officer Mr Payne Kupfuwa said the academy which is in the process of being set up will start enrolling students at the beginning of next year.
“We have identified a venue where we can start the academy here in Zvishavane. We are currently working on the modules and tutorials that will be undertaken by the students, as our first enrolment will be January 2021. After training the students will be awarded certificates, but these certificates should be equipping certificates similar to the ones received at vocational training centres. Lack of skills remains a major impediment to the desired growth of the mining industry, which is one of Zimbabwe’s key export sectors.
“As a way of encouraging professionalism and proper mining entrepreneurs, the academy will be fulfilling YMF’s dream of developing 21st century young mineral magnets as a stimulus to other productive enterprises in the country,” said Mr Kupfuwa.
He added that the organisation was also in the process of setting up a gold mining centre in Zvishavane.
“We are working on establishing a young miners gold processing centre in Zvishavane by December which will boost minerals output as well as curb leakages. More gold processing centres will be rolled out further around the country whereby they will stand as a benchmark of the kind of mining young people need,” he said.
Mr Kupfuwa also said as a way of increasing skills development among miners, YMF would be rolling out young miners’ workshops.
“We will be having a young miners indaba from 20 to 27 November. This will be a platform where we will bring all young miners and corporate family members together to discuss issues on how best we can come up with investment models to support small-scale mining initiatives. Mining should be viewed as a career or business for these young miners so we will also discuss prospective investors either locally or internationally.
“Young miners are lacking proper capitalisation to boost their projects, so we want to come together and discuss how best we can come up with investment packages that attract investors who can develop our small-scale mining into medium or large-scale mining. Since 1980 there has not been much progress in developing small-scale mining into medium-scale mining by young miners, the mindset to stay small has been the major problem. Every effort, entrepreneurial skill, professionalism is needed for young miners to develop.”
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