AN association of miners has urged the government to open expired Exclusive Prospecting Orders (EPOs) to local miners to help address unemployment and foster development in resource-rich communities.
Mines and Mining Development minister Winston Chitando recently told Parliament that areas covered by unsuccessful EPOs would now be designated as State assets.
These areas will fall under the purview of the State-owned Mining Promotion Corporation, which will take the lead in exploration and structuring appropriate investment models.
This policy shift follows a 2023 vetting exercise that reviewed all EPOs after a moratorium was placed on issuing new ones to curb speculative landholding and enhance transparency in the multi-billion-dollar mining sector.
At the time, Zimbabwe had 38 active EPOs, many of which were criticised for stagnating mineral exploration and tying up potentially productive land.
Emerging Miners Association of Zimbabwe president Hyde Chatyoka argued that such centralisation would slow down investment and delay the economic benefits that could come from faster engagement with local players.
“To be frank, the nation is battling high levels of unemployment and urban migration,” he said in an interview with NewsDay Business.
“The government should open up these areas and allow us to use them to create jobs, curb migration and develop our resource-hosting communities. That is the plea our members are making.”
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He warned that prolonged government control could stall potential investment, keeping valuable resources untapped.
“The implication is that the government risks losing potential investors and disrupting its economic plans,” Chatyoka said.
“For the ordinary citizen, this means lost job opportunities. Our members are ready to invest and help the government achieve the goals it set when it initially issued these EPOs.”
He said the country lacked the financial muscle for broad exploration and should instead tap into diaspora funding and private capital.
“We now have two key sources for foreign investment — our citizens abroad and foreign investors who admire our resources,” Chatyoka said.
“We’re doing ourselves a disservice by not developing mining investment products that can attract funding from our sons and daughters in the diaspora. The most obvious starting point is to unlock underutilised assets like those held by the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation.”
He flagged the security and ownership of geological data, warning that without proper oversight, EPO holders could collect valuable information and trade it privately.
“If the Department of Geology is underfunded, it won’t be able to properly supervise exploration activities,” Chatyoka said.
“Holders of EPOs aren’t here for charity — they could gather crucial data, hide it and later sell it to third parties. Imagine how risky it is if our geological information ends up in the wrong hands.”
He said small-scale miners had long been key contributors to the economy, particularly in gold production, even during times of economic hardship.
“The small-scale mining sector has never witnessed a recession. Our members have stood by the economy and they must be rewarded with access to land that has been frozen under EPOs for nearly a decade,” Chatyoka said.
