Starting small, thinking big on Zimbabwe’s gold mining front
The surge bin and ball mill at Zimbabwe’s Happy Valley Mine, a producing gold mine near Bulawayo.
Our Zimbabwe ‘open for business’ series, Part 3 of 3
CALGARY, Canada (Sept. 16, 2022) — Looking for the primary source of Zimbabwe’s gold production?
Think small.
The Chronicle, Zimbabwe’s most-read daily newspaper, reported on Aug. 12 that small-scale mines produced the bulk of Zimbabwe’s gold output over the first seven months of 2022.
Small-scale or artisanal mines accounted for 60% of the country’s output during that time span—11,444 kilograms of the national 18,940-kg total, according to data provided by Fidelity Printers and Refiners. That’s up from the 53% portion produced by small-scale outfits during the same seven-month period in 2021.
“The mining industry is one of the major economic mainstays to anchor the country towards an upper-middle income economy by 2030,” reported the Chronicle.
Mark Buncombe, head of mining and metals at Standard Bank Group, noted in May that the mining sector accounts for about 12% of Zimbabwe’s annual gross domestic product (GDP).
As it happens, Pambili Natural Resources Corporation (TSX-V: PNN) itself is big on the small-scale approach.
In recent weeks, Pambili Natural Resources Corporation (TSX-V: PNN) CEO Jon Harris met with Farayi Ngulube, Provincial Mining Director for Matabeleland North, in Bulawayo to introduce Pambili and discuss:
Pambili’s plans to create local prosperity through capital expansion of Zimbabwe’s Happy Valley Mine, a producing gold mine near Bulawayo
Pambili’s earn-in agreement with Techshed Investments (Pvt) Ltd., the owner of HVM
Pambili’s long-term plan in helping to “formalize” small-scale mining in Zimbabwe through selective capital investments.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa recently noted that Zimbabwe’s mining sector achieved a record-setting US$5.2 billion in earnings in 2021, and is targeting an ambitious US$12-billion in mining earnings in 2023.
“The US$12-billion target is within reach, and (we are) set to see the realization of a diversified, integrated, modern and industrialized economy synonymous with a prosperous society,” said President Mnangagwa in late July while opening the 25th edition of the Mining, Engineering and Transport Conference in Bulawayo.
As far as Buncombe and Standard Bank are concerned, the future looks bright for Africa’s mining sector as a whole.
“Standard Bank remains optimistic that Africa's mining sector offers real opportunity for expansion in 2022,” he wrote. “With mining companies currently enjoying high prices, exceptional production performance and robust supply chains, (Standard Bank) anticipates that the sector will continue showing resilience and growth, remaining financially sound in 2022.”