By Tatenda Gapa

THE US$100 million equipment deal with China availed to small-scale and artisanal miners is expected to jolt production that has remained sluggish due to lack of latest extraction technologies.
The country has vast mineral resources that have been opened up even to the average person as a result of the empowerment policies put in place by President Robert Mugabe and Government.
Most of the land in the country has precious minerals such as gold and some resettled farmers have discovered minerals on their land and have switched to mining.
However, a majority of the new miners have no access to modern mining equipment.
The Zimbabwe Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Council (ZASMC) hailed Government for concluding the equipment deal citing it would significantly boost operations and increase contribution of the sector to overall mineral output.
The ZASMC said its members have started grouping into provincial syndicates as part of the process to formalise artisanal and small scale miners operations
The ZASMC president, Wellington Takavarasha said the organisation was in the process of registering the miners.
“Small-scale miners will benefit from the US$100 million Chinese equipment deal through syndicates whose registration is ongoing throughout the country,” said Takavarasha.
“Individuals that will benefit from the mechanisation programme are those that have empirical evidence of production.
“Miners who have been supplying Fidelity Printers have first preference to access the loan.”
Takavarasha said the formalisation programme was covering 80 places in the country, mostly known for artisanal mining activities and the exercise would be conducted over a period of three months.
He said that the various levies being charged the miners were also impacting on production.
“Levies charged by rural district councils are high ranging from US$200 to US$1 000, while charges for environmental impact assessments (EIAs) range from US$500 to US$1 000,” he said.
It is critical, said Takavarasha, to adopt measures used in other countries like South Africa, Tanzania and Ghana that have ministries for small-scale miners and policies that support artisanal miners.
He, however, urged small-scale miners to desist from abusing funds.
“We expect them to make full use of the loan and increase gold production in the country,” he said.
Zimbabwe reportedly has 1,3 million artisanal miners.
The Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe recently indicated that the country was losing US$50 million worth of gold every month through smuggling.
The small-scale mining sector generates up to five times the income of other rural driven activities such as agriculture and forestry.
The artisanal mining sector employs 10 times more people than the large-scale mining sector and is critical to economic development considering that the country is one of Africa’s top gold producers.
With adequate machinery and technologies, Zimbabwe has the potential to become the biggest producer on the continent.
Gold production has always been a part of the country’s heritage with Zimbabweans having begun gold mining as early as the 13th century.
Mining is one of the sectors expected to boost recovery of the economy that has been crippled by more than a decade of illegal sanctions imposed by the West.