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Lovemore Zigara, Midlands Correspondent
THE country’s mining sector has contributed over $14 billion to the fiscus since the adoption of the multi currency system in 2009, a senior Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) official has said.

Dr Morris Mpofu, a senior RBZ division chief (Exchange Control), told small scale and artisanal miners in Zvishavane recently that the mining sector has contributed 56 percent of the foreign exchange earned so far in the past seven years.

“For the past seven years and nine months up to end of September, we have earned from the mining sector alone about $14, 2 billion and this represents about 56 percent of the $25 billion in foreign exchange that has come into the country,” he said.

Dr Mpofu said the biggest contributors in export earnings to the fiscus were platinum, gold, diamonds, chrome and tobacco.

Due to the boost in gold deliveries, he said, gold exports have earned the country $641 million so far this year and projections for the year stand at $1 billion.

“In the past nine months we have already earned $614 million and we would want to get to about $1 billion on gold. The gold sector alone is contributing 42 percent of exports in the mining sector hence we are putting a lot of effort because there is potential in the sector,” Dr Mpofu said.

The gold sector has been on a bullish trend since its rebound in 2012 when it contributed $566 million in export earnings and last year alone the sector contributed $684 million.

Government has set a target of 24 tonnes of bullion this year and so far just over 15 tonnes of gold have been delivered to Fidelity Printers and Refiners.

The small scale and artisanal miners have contributed 6,5 tonnes of the yellow metal while the big mines have delivered 8,8 tonnes of the mineral.

Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) says the country could be losing millions of dollars in potential income from gold sales through the informal market due to the proliferation of gold detectors across districts.

ZMF president Ms Appollonia Munzverengwi said the country could easily meet its gold target if it regulates the sector well. She said those using detectors were not willing to remit their gold through official channels because they do not have prospectors’ licences to trade in the mineral.

Ms Munzverengwi revealed that a local company which distributes gold detectors was recording brisk business and indicated that the gold sold to Fidelity could be lower than what is being smuggled.

“That gold is not going to Fidelity Printers and Refineries because these gold hunters are not recognised in the Mines and Minerals Act. We are in denial mode but we are with them everywhere and my plea is to bring them on board so that gold can be remitted through official channels,” she said.

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