Zimbabwe’s mining sector: A ‘major economic mainstay’ paving the way to prosperity
Moses Banda, left, consulting geologist for Happy Valley Mine, and his team at the producing mine near Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
Our Zimbabwe ‘open for business’ series, Part 2 of 3
CALGARY, Canada (Sept. 8, 2022) — There’s 20/20 vision.
And then there’s Vision 2030—Zimbabwe’s campaign to reach “upper-middle income” socio-economic status, as designated by the World Bank, by the year 2030.
It’s fueled by major economic reforms in the Southern African nation. And mining is expected to play a key role in the country’s transformation.
In July, the World Bank classified Zimbabwe’s as a lower-middle income economy—an encouraging step on Zimbabwe’s path to economic recovery since November 2017, when President Emmerson Mnangagwa took power.
Vision 2030 goals include: boosting household access to electricity; improving water access; prolonging life expectancy; increasing access to education, health services and food security; and enhancing prosperity.
Mining accounts for about 12% of Zimbabwe’s gross domestic product (GDP), according to a May 2022 estimate by the Standard Bank Group. And the Zimbabwean government has made it clear that the growth of the country’s mining sector will be a major catalyst for economic prosperity in the country.
In recent weeks, Pambili Natural Resources Corporation (TSX-V: PNN) CEO Jon Harris met with Farayi Ngulube, Provincial Mining Director for Matabeleland North, in Bulawayo to introduce Pambili and discuss:
Pambili’s plans to create local prosperity through capital expansion of Zimbabwe’s Happy Valley Mine, a producing gold mine near Bulawayo
Pambili’s earn-in agreement with Techshed Investments (Pvt) Ltd., the owner of HVM
Pambili’s long-term plan in helping to “formalize” small-scale mining in Zimbabwe through selective capital investments.
In Part 1 of this series, we discussed the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (ZIDA), created in early 2020 to provide overwhelming proof of Zimbabwe’s receptive environment for foreign investment—particularly in the mining sector.
ZIDA architect earns strategic mining post
In mid-August, the Zimbabwe government provided additional proof—by appointing Pfungwa Kunaka as permanent secretary of the country’s mining ministry.
Kunaka was instrumental in establishing and mobilizing ZIDA. His deployment to the mining sector, according to the chief secretary to President Mnangagwa, “will bring the requisite stability and sustain inclusive growth in the industry, in its quest to meet its strategic targets under the ongoing national development,” according to the Chronicle, Zimbabwe’s most-read daily newspaper.
US$12 billion in earnings targeted in 2023
Zimbabwe’s mining sector earnings jumped to a record US$5.2 billion in 2021, and President Mnangagwa’s government has set a US$12-billion earnings target for the sector in 2023.
“The mining industry is one of the major economic mainstays to anchor the country towards an upper-middle income economy by 2030,” the Chronicle reported in mid-August.
“The growth of a multi-billion-dollar industry will be driven by gold, platinum, diamond, chrome, iron ore, lithium, coal and other strategic minerals.”
(Stay tuned for Part 3 on the importance of small-scale mining in Zimbabwe.)