Nathi Masuku
ARTISANAL and small scale gold producers in Bubi district have called for support in procuring essential material to boost production.
The miners, who make up the Bubi Young Miners Association, say mining equipment in the country is expensive and they cannot afford to make meaningful business out of the yellow metal as expected.
Bubi Young Miners Association has more than 47 miners.
The pricing of mining equipment and spares in Zimbabwe has always been a contentious issue in the industry, with only established companies managing to keep afloat, leaving the bulk of small scale miners to make do with improvised tools.
In a tour of some of the mines around the gold-rich Inyathi area, The Zambezi Times news crew was shown how artisanal and small-scale miners struggle to produce gold.
Old and at times rundown equipment is what they have to use on a daily basis.
Bubi Young Miners Association acting chairperson Bhekumuzi Hlongwane said there is a need for businesses that sell mining equipment to consider the plight of upcoming miners.
“While gold is abundant here in Bubi, as young miners we face a challenge in getting material and other mining equipment. We cannot afford to buy some of the machinery as it is expensive,” said Hlongwane.
He said in their quest to be big producers of gold, they face another hurdle, that of the competition and strife caused by established players in the district.
“These big companies see us as an impediment rather than complementary partners in the mining industry. Instead of us tributes, they stick to working on contracts. Mining contracts bind us, they make our activity difficult. There comes a cost in exploration, transportation and then these big companies get a free dump.
“We want to have tributes so that we grow as young miners to become as big as these companies. We appeal for assistance to have our own plants and complete machinery to realise this dream,” he said.
Hlongwane lamented the cost of mining permits, saying they were priced to scare away potential artisanal and small-scale miners who would want to get into the industry legally.
He said they were on a campaign to push authorities to fully recognise artisanal and small-scale mining, as the sector is one of the biggest contributors to the country`s economy.
According to the Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF), artisanal and small-scale miners make up about 84 percent of the mining sector, while only 16 percent are registered.
Currently, the Gold Trade Act criminalises anyone found in possession of gold without being registered.
