The Zimbabwe govern-ment says it is in the final stages of imposing a new regime of hefty levies aimed at ridding the gold-mining sector of companies and individuals who are holding onto unused mining claims.

Mines and Mining Develop-ment Minister Obert Mpofu tells Mining Weekly there is a huge number of mining claims not being used as the owners do not have the resources to start mining or are simply holding onto the claims for speculation purposes.

“We have just completed the process of identifying all redundant claims nationwide and we are feeding all this into a database that will be used to check on and call the concession holders to account for the state of their claims . . . We want to discourage speculators and economic saboteurs,” he says.

Many locals own multiple gold-mining claims but have neither the resources nor the technical know-how to venture into mining. 
Sources in the Ministry say more than 1 000 claims, mostly for gold, have been identified thus far.

However, Colin Chigumira, of the Zimbabwe Miners’ Federation, which represents small-scale gold-miners, says government’s intended move threatens to derail locals’ participation in the gold-mining sector, which is starting to show signs of revival.

He says many members of his organisation have unexploited claims because they could not raise capital during the past nine years, a period characterised by political and economic difficulties.

“Government is missing the point. Everyone knows that the mining industry was knocked out cold by the
economic crisis, over which people like Mpofu presided.


“We find it particularly dis-turbing that this seems to be targeted at small-scale miners,” says Chigumira.

He says small-claim holders need at least two years to develop their claims.

The intended move is likely to add to uncertainty in an industry already upset by various legislative restrictions, both mooted and enacted.


Foreign mining companies are waiting to see the implementation of the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act, which seeks to give locals a 51% stake in all foreign-owned mining ventures with no money changing hands.

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