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Zimbabwe government has appealed small-scale miners to diversify their commodity portfolios and strive for international competitiveness in their operations.
Historically, artisanal and small-scale producers are mostly concentrated in gold, where they work small claims, and chrome, where they are mostly tributaries of large players.Since 2015, small-scale gold producers have accounted for a bigger proportion of Zimbabwe’s annual gold deliveries to Fidelity Printers and Refiners, the country’s sole gold buyer.
In his keynote address at the Minex Exhibition and Conference held in Kwekwe last week, Mines and Mining Development permanent secretary Munesu Munodawafa said the small-scale mining sector had the potential to play a bigger role in other mineral commodity sectors.
"Zimbabwe’s small-scale mining sector is concentrated in gold, chrome and semi-precious stones, and this calls for more diversification in order to increase the number of mineral commodities that this sector can benefit from," he said.
Over 60 minerals and metals are known to exist in Zimbabwe, 40% of which have been mined commercially. By value, the country’s leading minerals and metals include gold, platinum group metals, chrome, diamond and coal.
Zimbabwe government urged small-scale miners to grow from small and medium to large scale through various strategic interventions.