Small-scale miners receive a major boost

Published: 24 July 2018

At least 90 plus small scale miners are set to benefit through the opening of Bubi Gold Service Centre in Matabeleland North

Zimbabwe Miners' Federation (ZMF) spokesperson, Dosman Mangisi said the setting up of such centres will help increase gold output in the country.

"This pilot project is meant to increase the output of gold in Zimbabwe. We are expecting more than 90 small scale miners from Bubi district to benefit from this facility and this means there will be creation of employment of more than 1600 people.

"These centres will be commissioned in various parts of the country with the aim of helping small scale miners with equipment for hiring and processing. Buying of ore will be done at the site," he said.

Mangisi said the Centre has the capacity to produce two tonnes of ore annually.

"The centre has the capacity to produce two tonnes of ore and it can produce up to five tonnes of gold ore on a full throttle. There is a high recovery of up to 85% compared to other milling stations which only offer 30%.

He said miners will be the main stakeholders of the centre and this will enhance the transformation of their lives and operations.

The service centres will be one stop centres, which will provide an assortment of services such as the hiring of equipment at affordable rates, technical support services, processing and buying of minerals produced by small scale miners at fair prices. This, he said, was in line with government's plan of effective and efficient small scale mining. Small scale mining will be expected to operate within the framework of international best practices and sustainable development.

A total of $3,5 billion was sourced from fidelity printers and refineries for the purchase of machinery and various mining consumables for use at Bubi gold service Centre.
- newsday

Tags: Miners,