THE delay in issuing licences to prospective miners has resulted in the loss of potential revenue to the mines ministry, Zim Morning Post has learnt.
Zimbabwe Prospectors Association (ZPA) president Samson Dzingwe told this publication that the long verification process is retrogressive to progress in the mining sector.
“Most of the Approved Prospectors (peggers) are being affected by these delays since it leads them to lose trust from clients when they are just victims of the system. Most of the disputes happening have nothing to do with Approved Prospectors (peggers) since verification and certification is done by ministry of Mines officials on ground and peggers find it difficult to work in a situation where there are tattered or torn maps which ended up being photocopied,” he said.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa at the Zimbabwe National Heroes Day Commemorations held in Harare on August 12 2019 stated that investments in the mining sector are coming in by way of existing exploitation and opening of new mines.
“In the mining sector, we continue to receive investments, by way of the expansion of existing projects, exploration, the opening up of new mines as well as mineral beneficiation,” he said.
The delay in processing papers for miners is therefore acting as an impediment to government’s vision.