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Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) has called on Fidelity Gold Refinery (FGR) to use small-scale miners’ gold delivery records when assessing them for financial support, proposing a production-based financing model that would allow consistent suppliers to access assistance even without conventional collateral, Mining Zimbabwe can report.
By Ryan Chigoche
Speaking at FGR’s stakeholder consultative meeting, held under the theme “Strengthening Partnerships for Sustainable Gold Mobilisation and Responsible Sourcing”, ZMF chief executive officer Wellington Takavarasha said miners with a consistent record of gold deliveries should be considered for production support, with their supply history providing a basis for assessing the viability of their operations.
He proposed that Fidelity should move beyond conventional lending requirements and use delivery records to identify productive mines, assess their potential and determine the assistance needed to increase output.
“If you look at the miners that deliver gold, if you notice that this person each time is coming and giving us 500 grammes, that is empirical evidence that the mine has resources. We therefore need to send a team to go and assess, according to those resources that have been made available, and assist in production,” Takavarasha said.
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The proposed approach would allow support to be directed towards established producers who have demonstrated an ability to generate gold but lack the capital to expand. Assistance could include explosives, mining equipment and consumables, with delivery histories helping Fidelity identify operations requiring intervention.
“Some miners depend very much on sponsorship. You can be indirectly responsible for a particular mine. You know that the mine wants explosives, mining consumables and equipment because of the geological, empirical evidence that has been provided,” he said.
The proposal comes as small-scale miners continue to dominate Zimbabwe’s gold supply, accounting for nearly three-quarters of deliveries to Fidelity in 2025.
The sector delivered 34.88 tonnes during the year, compared with 11.85 tonnes from large-scale producers, taking national deliveries to a record 46.73 tonnes. Small-scale deliveries increased by 48% from 23.57 tonnes in 2024, highlighting the sector’s growing importance to the country’s gold industry.
The scale of that contribution makes access to capital a significant consideration as Zimbabwe seeks to sustain production growth. Fidelity is targeting 55 tonnes of gold deliveries in 2027, a 10% increase on its projected 50-tonne outturn for 2026.
Beyond financing, ZMF also wants Fidelity to expand its gold-buying network to capture production from mining areas that remain underserved by official purchasing facilities.
Takavarasha said the absence of accredited buyers in some gold-producing areas forces miners to travel to other centres to sell their output, increasing the risk of gold entering informal trading channels. He urged Fidelity to deploy agents closer to mining hotspots and extend buying arrangements beyond its existing network of centres.
“Wherever there is significant gold activity, let’s have an agent. The time you close is 3pm, but there is quite a lot of activity after 3pm when people come into town to sell gold. If there is a gold rush in a particular area, Fidelity should already have someone there buying on its behalf,” he said.
He welcomed Fidelity’s mobile gold-buying initiative, which takes purchasing services closer to miners in outlying areas, describing it as an approach ZMF had previously advocated.
The proposals add to the industry’s broader discussion on how Fidelity can increase formal gold mobilisation as it prepares its 2027 Strategic Plan, with access to finance, buying infrastructure and producer formalisation emerging as important considerations in securing higher deliveries.