Strengthening the gold mining value chain in Zimbabwe Report 2018

“Results noted the underlying solution to be that whoever would want to buy gold should support the operations that lead to the production of that gold”

The Institute for Sustainability Africa (INSAF) embarked on a research that aimed at developing a business strategy perspective on strengthening the gold mining value chain in Zimbabwe. The standpoint was that the gold sector should contribute to sustainable development and poverty alleviation in Zimbabwe through contribution from Large scale gold miners (LSGM) and the Artisanal gold scale miners (ASSGM). While it was noted that the ASSGM upstaged the LSGM in the 1st quarter of 2018 in producing more gold, there seems to be little to demonstrate development impact in mining communities and nations at large from this precious mineral.

However despite the emerging positive dependence on ASSGM to gold production in Zimbabwe, there are a number of underlying challenges being faced in this sector by this group. Some of these challenges include lack of technical knowledge and capacity on sustainable gold mining by ASSGM, capacity to fulfil safety requirements from underground and alluvial mining, lack of equipment and machinery such as jackhammers and compressors, complying with strict environmental regulations, managing the use of mercury, predatory custom millers, failure to access loans from banks to mention a few mentioned in the full report.

With such empirical evidence, this research explored linkages and cooperation between LSGM and ASSGM as an alternative strategy for minimising leakages. The results showed positive correlation between cooperation/coexistence variables and gold production. The research findings also felt the need for a holistic framework that legitimately accommodates both LSGM and ASSGM in a sustainable way. This therefore presence the opportunity for sustained dialogues by stakeholder to strengthen the Gold Mining Value Chain in Zimbabwe through linkages and cooperation in a supply chain system.

The research placed great attention on Parliament, Government, Chamber of Mines, Environmental Management Agency and Large mining companies to forge the strategy as an alternative for the mining sector to contribute to sustainable development in Zimbabwe.

For more information about our research findings & recommendations, follow this link to download a copy of the full report.