Small-scale mining engine growth for economy: Takavarasha

ARTISANAL small miners have produced about two tonnes of gold to date, with figures expected to rise significantly to 20 tonnes annually if the formalisation and regularisation exercise is expedited, Zimbabwe Mining Federation chief executive officer Wellington Takavarasha has said.

Giving the state of small-scale and artisanal mining in Zimbabwe at an alternative mining indaba in Bulawayo, Takavarasha said small-scale mining was the engine growth for the economy, although government was reluctant to support it.

“In 2014, artisanal miners produced 3,9 tonnes of gold and to date we have produced two tonnes,” he said.

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