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(HERALD) Namibians tour small-scale mines

Namibians tour small-scale mines
Business Reporter

A Namibian delegation is in Zimbabwe to assess small-scale mining activities, a move that is likely to see the sector attracting lucrative deals from that country. The delegation, headed by the Namibian director of mining, Mr Erasmus Chivolo, went on a tour of small-scale mines in Mazowe and Kwekwe, in the company of officials from the Zimbabwe Miners’ Federation.

ZMF chief executive Mr Wellington Takavarasha said the visit was a milestone for small miners with the Namibians expressing a keen interest to invest in the sector, particularly in terms of providing equipment.

"We have officials from the Namibian Ministry of Mines and Energy, they want to see how we manage small-scale mining in Zimbabwe, and use that knowledge to develop the sector in their country. From this visit we are likely to see some investments from them especially in the areas of human resources because Zimbabwe is blessed with a workforce with technical expertise," he said.

Stakeholders in the sector will also visit Namibia on a return visit where they will learn more about diamond mining and processing.

"We have also been invited to Namibia, they specialise in diamonds and so we will have a chance to see diamond mining and processing in case our members might want to venture into diamond mining," he said.

Small-scale miners have a great potential to contribute towards the country’s economic turnaround if given adequate funding.

Their progress is hampered by lack of mining equipment with some of them still using primitive tools such as hammers and chisels to extract gold.

Despite poor machinery they contribute at least 40 percent of the country’s gold output. Due to this contribution small-scale mining has attracted foreign investors who come in the country to assess their operations. Some of these come from within the region while others come from as far as Asia and Canada.

Labels: MINING, NAMIBIA, THE HERALD, ZIMBABWE, ZIMBABWE MINERS FEDERATION

posted by MrK @ 7:10 PM