We help entrepreneurs with a lot of resources and one of our major focus has been opportunities. What opportunities exist in Zimbabwe which can be tapped into? This website has a lot of them to inspire you. Our Facebook platform has covered thousands of opportunities since formation in 2015. Our various Whatsapp groups also add to our database of opportunities. On a yearly basis we publish books with a compilation of articles to inspire our members.
So how easy is it to run small scale mining operations in Zimbabwe? We asked our members the challenges they face in mining operations and below we feature their responses;
ZBIN Member 1:Hi in mining the deeper you go the more expenses you incur. So you need things like big pumps, generators, compressors and also need to mill on site. Capital is a major hindrance in mining projects.
Another challenge is management-most miners are not well versed with latest methods of management. They believe kuti chembere yepa Chegutu ine zamu one-mari yekuzorera.
ZBIN Member 2 :Finance to kick start their dream projects and also lack of equipment, machinery and tools.
ZBIN Member 3 : Working capital.
ZBIN Member 4 :The management method is a big issue because for one to inject capital on your project, you need to produce convincing production records or some kind of exploration work showing the potential of your mine and expected returns.
They are many miners who with proper guidance/ consultation/can be very successful. I think it is good for miners mining the same mineral to gang up and market their produce minerals like chrome, manganese and tantalite for export.
Buyers out there normally ask for reasonably big quantities which an ordinary miner find difficult to stack your small funds on huge quantities of product which you don’t have the capacity to produce as per international buyers minimum requirement.
I rarely contribute but I can tell you I’m learning a lot on the group about mining, business and economics. I look forward to the weekend when great minds here would be discussing and explaining economics. Ndapota musandigumurawo mugroup.
ZBIN Member 5
1. Mining, Trading and export licences takes way too long.
2.MMCZ pricing formula for minerals is not competitive compared to the region.
3.Fuel is very expensive, production and transport cost therefore are also Uncompetitive
4.Rail infrastructure is broken,
5. Metallurgy department is incapacitated
6. Middlemen
7.There is no security of tenure,
8. Mashurugwi and corrupt police
9. Inconsistent policies are chasing away investors
ZBIN Member 6 :Apa I’m 100% with you. The change in policy overnight has got a lot of investors sitting on the sidelines or investing elsewhere. Pa policy pakaita clear a lot of things will happen here.
ZBIN Member 7 : For now I would say the current monetary policy/position has presented one of the biggest challenges for miners, and the economy at large. As an investment destination, Zimbabwe is categorised in the high risk zone. As such a lot of potentially huge projects are untapped.
ZBIN Member 8 :Kkkk mashurugwi ndicho chii?
ZBIN Member 9 : Mashurugwi they come and take staff rangu raive rine 80 grams.They are terrible, pa Saimona vakatema tema vanhu vaiva mugomba nemabhemba vakatora motoro ose
kwatinogaisira ndokuno fumurwa our results then they will come plus vanodyawo ne police so eish ma1.
ZBIN Member 10 :Ma
shurugwi ane staera yavo vega. Up to today my head has scars to prove this😁
Eish vanhu ava ndevekumusha kwangu but hunhu hwacho hwatoenderera ndototya
kushanda Midlands area.
ZBIN Member 11:Mashurugwi
vanongosvika pagomba risiri ravo vodeedzera kuti chimbobudai timbopindawo and that’s
it…ukada kuita nharo ipapo waparara.
Recommendation
These are just a few of the many responses covered by our mining groups with over 500 miners. The situation could be better if responsible authorities such as RBZ invest more funds in provision of support to miners such as literacy training, management courses, disaster preparedness, marketing, access to funds and machinery, security, company registrations, environment awareness and mining operations.
Simply buying minerals such as gold from miners is not enough, our miners are calling out for smart partnerships with relevant authorities so that they can professionally run their mining operations and help to create employment and improve the economic growth of the country.
Simply mentioning that we have disbursed $120m to small scale miners is not enough, we need to find out what more support miners have received and an improvement in their business operations so that issues such as the Kadoma Mine Disaster to not recur.
When authorities publish gold output figures, no one is asking them about the cost to the environment and the sustainability of mining operations and therefore questions should start to be asked on whether Fidelity is simply buying minerals without investing a penny on environmental issues. We need a restructure at Fidelity and other mining bodies and authorities.
