Ore deliveries to Zimbabwe’s gold processors dipped by 40% last year because of rampant smuggling of the precious metal, the Southern African country’s Chamber of Mines said on Monday.
Gold deliveries dropped to 13 000kg between January and November last year from 21 300kg in 2004, chamber chief executive David Murangari said.
”These are the production figures that we have, but our concern is the informal sector where the leakages are taking place. We do not have problems with established companies,” he said.
”Smuggling is an area of concern and as the Chamber of Mines we condemn it in the strongest terms. How do they [miners] expect the country to get foreign currency if they continue smuggling the product?” he said.
Zimbabwe’s gold miners sell the ore through a government agency.
Murangari said records showed established miners had maintained their production levels and submissions to the government-run Fidelity Printers and Refiners.
He said there was a decline in deliveries by small-scale producers last year, although he could not give figures.
Gold is one of Zimbabwe’s major foreign-currency earners, but the mining sector has been hamstrung by forex shortages to renew equipment and supplies.
Shortages of cyanide, drill steel and compressor spares have also hampered production.
”Besides the shortages of foreign currency, the sector is also facing problems relating to insufficient revenue generated from the sale of gold through the official system,” Murangari said.
Gold miners are compelled to sell 60% of their product at the prevailing official foreign-currency exchange rate, while the other 40% is maintained in foreign-currency accounts.
About 80% of Zimbabwe’s 13-million population lives below the poverty line, more than 70% are jobless and inflation stands at 585,8%.
The central bank relaxed the exchange rate in October last year with the Zimbabwe dollar trading at about Z$95 000 per United States dollar. — Sapa-AFP