mbulelo smpofu
Thanks to a range of measures that the Government put in place since January, the country is firmly on its way to setting a gold production record this year.
The highest that we have produced in history is 35 tonnes (t) in 2022. Authorities set a target to match the 2022 record this year but by the end of last month, miners had sold 32t of the metal, our single biggest foreign currency earner.
This means that between last month and the end of this month, miners have to sell three tonnes to achieve the forecast.
But, speaking at a gold mobilisation send-off last week, Mines and Mining Development Minister, Winston Chitando said the Government was optimistic that total production for the year would exceed 35t.
His deputy, Polite Kambambura agreed, explaining that the ministry expected gold mining companies to deliver at least three tonnes more by the end of this month while platinum group metals miners, whose processing systems extract gold too to produce two tonnes by the end of this month.
This will set a yearly production record of 37t.
We, most keenly, look forward to the final statistics over the next few weeks.
Looking back, we note that the stellar output envisaged for this year was not an accident but a result of hard work and implementation of winning policies and programmes at Government and mine levels.
Earlier this year, the Government scrapped 15 percent value-added tax on gold deliveries. This encouraged miners to sell their production to Fidelity Gold Refinery since they knew their sales revenues were not subject to tax.
We think this was the masterstroke that drove output this year and will continue to drive it into the future.
In addition to the removal of the tax, the Government has expanded and strengthened its gold mobilisation system across all mining districts countrywide. Plans are underway to build more centres at which miners can sell their production near their mines. This decentralised approach ensures that miners don’t spend money and time driving to distant urban centres to sell their production.
Yet another factor that has boosted output was the deliberate effort by the Government to help mechanise mining operations. Where a miner sought gold using pick and shovel, machines are now doing that backbreaking work for them.
We also believe that, motivated by the foregoing, miners, large and small, expanded their operations this year, and with it, output.
All the winning steps that the industry took this year to achieve the expected 37 tonnes must be enhanced going forward so that we set a production record yearly.
Ghana produced a humongous 118t of gold in 2022, South Africa second with 100t, Sudan (93t), Mali (64t) and Burkina Faso (45t).
Noting the abundance of the precious metal in our country, the available skills and other resources, we feel we belong to that premier league.
Siphakeme .Mnindwa
