Small-scale gold producers have implored Government to end the monopoly of Fidelity Printers and Refiners as Zimbabwe’s sole authorised gold buyer to improve bullion deliveries from the sector.
Deliveries to Fidelity Printers and Refiners dropped by about 10 percent in the first quarter of 2019 to 6,5 tonnes from 7,7 tonnes in the same period last year.
Henrietta Rushwaya, Zimbabwe Artisanal, and Small-Scale Miners Association president told a Chamber of Mines conference in Victoria Falls on Thursday that small-scale gold miners were not happy with the 55 percent forex retention threshold they were getting from Fidelity Printers. She said:
The miners are still not happy with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe retention threshold, especially the 55 percent (forex) and 45 percent RTGS at the interbank rate of the day.
And consequently, this has resulted in less deliveries at Fidelity Printers and Refiners and our recommendations as a sector are that the monopoly by Fidelity Printers needs to be reviewed and gold trading liberalised.
Miss Rushwaya said that poor payment by Fidelity Printers and Refineries could be triggering gold smuggling and leakages. She said:
At the end of the day the 100 tonnes we are craving for can be achieved before 2023 because 70 percent of gold could be getting leaked through illicit means due to poor payment by Fidelity Printers and Refiners.
More: The Herald