Zimbabwe’s central bank accumulated 793 kilograms (25,000 ounces) of gold reserves since introducing a law that compels mining companies to pay part of their royalties using the metal.
The reserves were collected after mines in the southern African nation produced 30.1 tons of gold last year, compared with a record 35.3 tons a year earlier, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor John Mangudya said by phone from the capital, Harare, on Tuesday.
The build-up comes as the authorities in Zimbabwe consider using gold to back the nation’s battered currency in an effort to end persistent exchange-rate instability.
Read More: Zimbabwe Weighs Using Gold to Back Its Foundering Currency
Zimbabwe’s finance ministry introduced the royalties measure in September 2022 to help build the nation’s mineral reserves. Apart from gold, Zimbabwe has the world’s third-largest reserves of platinum, and also mines diamonds, nickel, chrome, lithium and coal.
Mining companies that operate in the southern African country include subsidiaries of Sibanye Gold Ltd., Impala Platinum Ltd. and Anglo American Platinum Ltd.