By Tendai Matunhu
Speaking on behalf of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor, Dr John Mangudya, RBZ Deputy Director a Mrs Machingura highlighted that the bank was committed to ensuring full potential of the Small Scale Miners by availing financial support to them.
Speaking to delegates at the; Small Scale Miners Conference hosted by Zimbabwe Miners Federation last week, Mrs Machigura presented on supporting mining output through empowering the small scale players.
She said, “The Bank is aware of challenges of Small Scale Miners which include: high cost of capital, high cost of production and fluctuating commodity prices and high cost of consumables used in the production of gold.
“The Bank is committed to ensure full potential of the Small Scale Miners. As such, the Bank availed ZWL$150 million through Fidelity Printers and Refiners (FPR) to fund both working capital and capex requirements under the Gold Support Facility. The facility has since been reviewed upwards to ZWL$200 million to cater for increased demand.”
She added, “Fidelity Printers and Refiners are to be capacitated so that it pays Small Scale Miners timeously for gold delivered. The Bank continues to engage local banking institutions and suppliers of critical raw materials and equipment to come up with facilities to support small scale miners.”
Mrs Machingura highlighted the importance of the mining industry as it contributes immensely to the economic development of Zimbabwe.
“The cornerstone of economic development of any country is production of goods and services. Mining Sector is viewed as a locomotive of Zimbabwe’s development agenda. Under the New Dispensation, mining is taking a pivotal role in the revival of the economy.
“Mining exports play a pivotal role in the generation of the much needed foreign exchange. The sector contributed over 60% of export proceeds in the last 3 years buoyed by critical minerals such as gold (Small scale delivering over 60%), PGMs, nickel and chrome,” she said.
She went on to say that, “It is a source of foreign currency to import critical imports such as fuel, electricity, medicines, cooking oil, fertilisers, agro-chemicals and many other critical national requirements.”
