Business Reporter
MUTAPA Investment Fund (MIF) unit , Fidelity Gold Refineries is upping the game to formalise the informal gold mining sector.
Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) gold leakages, particularly in Zimbabwe, are substantial, with estimates suggesting that millions of dollars’ worth of gold are lost monthly through smuggling and illicit trade, often driven by poor recovery techniques, unmonitored production, and black market pricing.
These leakages involve a chain of actors, from local miners to politically connected syndicates, frequently bypassing formal channels like Fidelity Gold Refinery (FGR)
Briefing legislators during the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Public Accounts visit, the FGR General Manager, Peter Magaramombe said an ongoing formalization strategy will ease the challenges bedeviling the gold sector.
“The work is expected to strengthen compliance and improve transparency within the gold value chain through improved transparency .We need to formalise the artisanal and small-scale miners so that every day we know exactly where we are and where the gold is coming from and where it is going to.
“The process of formalisation is expected to begin soon and will assist in improving monitoring systems and management of mineral resources,” he said.
Magaramombe said that the process will assist to ensure that gold purchased by FGR is originating from legitimate and traceable sources .
