Zimbabwe’s gold reserves are fast depleting and pushing hundreds of miners out of business, the Chamber of Mines said in a letter to the government obtained by Agence France-Presse on Thursday.
“With more than two million operators out there, surface gold is fast running out,” Jack Murehwa, president of the mining association, said in a letter to Mines Minister Amos Midzi.
“Operators are now moving into alternative employment like farming,” he said.
Gold production dipped by 40% from 21,3 tonnes in 2004 to 13 tonnes between January and November last year.
Midzi said small-time miners operated in areas prone to flooding, adding that their capacity to deal with flooded shafts and open working areas was limited.
Last year, President Robert Mugabe said the government would seek 50% shareholding in all foreign-owned mines.
Junior mines minister Tinos Rusere last week said that the proposed mining amendment would be introduced this week in Parliament.
Murehwa said uncertainty about the legislation had stopped both potential foreign and local investors committing borrowed and equity funds towards exploration and expansion, for fear of losing both control of business and a big portion of their investment.
He also said the consumption of imported raw materials like electricity, explosives, chemicals, machinery and spare parts is rising without a reciprocal increase in the mineral output. – AFP