Gold Deliveries Increase By 137 Per Cent
Gold deliveries to Fidelity Printers and Refiners (FPR) rose by 137 per cent in January and February 2022 compared to the same period last year, reported The Sunday Mail.
FPR, which is the country’s only authorised gold buyer, received 5.1 tonnes in the first two months of 2022 while gold deliveries were 2.17 tonnes in the same period last year.
The massive jump in gold deliveries, according to The Sunday Mail, is largely attributable to Government incentives that have helped prevent smuggling.
In previous years, January and February were characterised by low gold deliveries as most mining operations are affected by the rains.
In January and February this year, small-scale miners delivered more gold at 3.4 tonnes compared to 1.8 tonnes by primary producers.
Last year, large producers delivered 11.2 tonnes to FPR while small-scale producers delivered 18.5 tonnes.
Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe (CoMZ) vice president Thomas Gono believes the 40 tonnes targeted by FPR this year is attainable. Gono said:
The 40-tonne target is very achievable if the current policies are maintained and not tampered with because they have increased the incentive to produce.
CoMZ has been engaging Government to refine the policies even further.
We have written to the Government that the retention ratio should be increased to 80-85 per cent in order to see the mines expand and be sustainable.
Gold is one of Zimbabwe’s largest single foreign currency earners, with the mineral generating US$1.61 billion in exports in 2021.
This constituted 26.7 per cent of total exports.
