Zimpapers Logo

Oliver Kazunga, Senior Business Reporter

GOLD deliveries to Fidelity Printers and Refiners (FPR) decreased by 22 percent to 12,018 tonnes in the first seven months of the year compared to 15,4 tonnes during the same period last year.

FPR is the country’s sole gold buying unit and falls under the purview of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.

Latest data from FPR indicate that the bulk of the gold deliveries during the period under review came from the small-scale miners who delivered 7,128 tonnes while large scale producers accounted for 4,89 tonnes.

Last year, the small-scale mining sector contributed over 60 percent of the yellow metal that was delivered to the formal market.

Of late small-scale miners, despite accounting for the bulk of the gold delivered to the formal market, have lamented a number of challenges bedevilling the sector.

These include delays in payment for gold deliveries to FPR as well as fuel shortages.

Zimbabwe’s exclusive buyer of the yellow metal has attributed delays in paying out the miners to shortage of foreign currency following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has seen restrictions on international flights that transport the hard currency into the country.

– @okazunga