THE Young Miners Foundation (YMF) says it is building a foundation aimed at creating wealth that will assist young miners with loans to boost their business.
Currently, small-scale miners contribute an estimated 60% of all mining activities in Zimbabwe, yet young miners continue to face significant bottlenecks in securing financing for mining activities from banks or micro-financiers.
The initiative is coming at a time when the mining industry is expected to grow by an average of 7% in 2025, generating an estimated US$6 billion in exports.
In an interview with NewsDay Business, YMF chief executive Payne Kupfuwa said the Young Miners Revolving Fund will assist the miners to stay afloat in the midst of financial woes.
“Funding is a critical issue especially in mining at all levels, from small, medium, or large, there is a need for capital intensive,” he said.
“So, the alternative financing models are always an issue because local financial institutions are afraid of risking as the sector is risky.
“Actually investing in mining, or supporting mining, is considered as a high-risk enterprise. So we are also trying to create a Young Miners Revolving Fund as an organisation to ensure that we can also be able to give each other small loans.”
He added that they had also created a network from Zambia and Zimbabwe of young miners under the organisation, which is meant to assist the sharing of resources like compressors, excavators, or giving financial support, and some will get claims.
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“We have created this network so that people can actually share resources, work together, create strategic partnerships through the influence of the organisation, facilitating legally-approved partnerships to work together among young miners so that at least they share what they have and grow from them.” Kupfuwa said.
He emphasised that in addition to financial assistance, YMF provides training in technology, environmental safety, management and professional business practices.
“So we are doing the best that we can to ensure ease of doing business in the country. We have more than 2 500 members all around the country that we are assisting,” he said.
“We are assisting them to get equipment, financing and training on formalisation and professionalisation, safety, health and environmental issues as well as adoption of technology. We give them exposure.”
