Story by Theophilus Chuma
THE Artisanal and Small-scale mining sector is embracing the digital mining cadastre system, a requirement outlined in the recently gazetted Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill, targeting greater transparency and efficiency for the sector.
This follows a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) and the Association of Mine Surveyors of Zimbabwe (AMSZ) in Harare this Thursday.
It is a deal of mutual agreement, which is expected to catapult artisanal and small-scale mining into a fully computerised sector for managing mining rights and operations under the sector, guided by the principles of the Mining Cadastre Information Management System (MCIMS).
The working arrangement agreed between ZMF and AMSZ targets to unlock benefits for the sector.
“Our partnership with the Zimbabwe Miners Federation is a landmark agreement and supports access to credible mine surveying services, which they critically need for meeting formalisation requirements. Secondly, it supports the growth of this sector, our Miners have great potential to grow from small to medium and ultimately to large-scale miners. This is why we are ready to support this sector,” AMSZ president, Mr Shepherd Gumbi said.
The agreement is a huge milestone for the small-scale mining industry as it readies for the full rollout of the digital mining cadastre system.
“It minimises disputes. There have been a number of disputes that have been occurring, spilling over two years. Now, when you talk about the cadastre system, it’s spot on, the actual sites that are supposed to be allocated,” ZMF CEO, Mr Wellington Takavarasha said.
Effective on the 1st of July 2025, the agreement requires all existing mining title holders, new applicants and those with pending applications to submit updated coordinates that meet the geospatial data standards.
