Story by Fungai Jachi
THE government is set to establish 20 gold centres across the country by next year to curb leakages of the precious metal.
This was revealed by the Deputy Minister of Mines and Mining Development, Honourable Polite Kambamura when he appeared before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines and Mining Development at the New Parliament Building in Mt Hampden this Monday.
“We also checked in the establishment of gold centres, something which the government has already embarked on. We started with the Bubi Gold Centre and Makaradzi Gold Centre. So we are going to establish more gold centres and we are targeting about 20 gold centres where small-scale miners will get all they require including technical expertise,” he said.
The Chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines and Mining Development, Honourable Remigious Matangira underscored the need for the government to expedite the formalisation of artisanal miners.
“What we wanted to find out was what is being done to expedite the formalisation of artisanal miners and we were told that government is seized with the matter. The cadastre system was also under the spotlight with the government saying they are at an advanced stage on the plan.”
The government is providing support to artisanal miners, which includes access to funding, training and resources as a way of allowing local miners to participate in the sector and benefit from the country’s natural resources.
