$100m loan facility for small-scale miners

$100m loan facility for small-scale miners
Published: 29 July 2014
The government has secured a $100 million credit facility from a Chinese company to support small scale miners, Mines and Mining Development minister Walter Chidhakwa said last week.

In a speech read on his behalf by chief mining engineer Charles Tawha at the Zimbabwe Artisanal and Small Scale Mining for Sustainable Mining Council conference on the sidelines of the just-ended Mine-Entra exhibition in Bulawayo, Chidhakwa said mining would underpin the country's economic revival. He said the credit facility would be managed by CBZ Bank, the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation and the Mines ministry.

"This should see equipment being made available to small-scale miners after all modalities have been made," he said. Chidhakwa said small scale mining played a central role in poverty reduction and contributed to sustainable development.

He said the sector should be formalised and be properly regulated for it to play a meaningful role in the economy.

"The government has identified the mining sector as the centre peice for growth and therefore there is need to synergise the artisanal small-scale mining with the ZimAsset," Chidhakwa said. He said mining had a direct link with industrialisation and economic development.

"In order to maximise the developmental impact of mining, the ministry must foster economic interdependences between mining and the rest of the economy especially through maximising value addition," he said.

"Local value addition facilitates infrastructural development and employment creation in Zimbabwe." Speaking at the same event, Chamber of Mines vice-president Ashton Ndlovu said there was need to "engage developmental partners in the development of the small mining".

He said this could be done through assessments and formalisation of mining activities like registration of mining claims, compliance with legal provisions, imparting knowledge on the legal requirements, on environment management, sales and marketing technology, undertaking awareness campaigns, the provision of information and assistance in development of project proposals."
- Southern Eye

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