Zimbabwe has earned close to US$2Bn from mineral exports in the first nine months of the year. The haul is for minerals whose marketing falls under the ambit of the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ) and excludes gold and silver that are also high value minerals.
Gold, one of the country’s largest single foreign currency earners, is marketed by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s Fidelity Printers and Refineries (FPR) together with silver. The strong showing by the MMCZ marketed minerals, is a strong statement of intent against the background of the threat that was posed on the global economy by the crippling novel coronavirus pandemic.
Most major minerals markets closed their borders following the outbreak of the pandemic, threatening countries that heavily depended on imports for raw materials and finished goods. MMCZ, however, said the huge sale was a culmination of timely and effective marketing strategies adopted by the state market which had to improvise in the face of highly restrictive measures adopted by several countries.
According to MMCZ general manager Mr Tongai Muzenda, platinum group of metals were the biggest contributor of revenues generated during the period under review. This is as a result of firming global prices of the precious minerals mainly used in the automobile industry.
Chrome and ferrochrome have of late suffered as a result of stock piles that have obtained in China, the biggest steel market in the world. However, the stockpile appears to be receding thus raising hope for increased prices and volumes and Zimbabwe is set to leverage on the impending demand.
In the meantime, the MMCZ will continue to strive to make sure the country accrues maximum benefits from its minerals, majority of them were on high demand on the global market. Among other strategies, the state marketer will target to promote minerals such as gemstones and manganese.
According to media reports, teams have already been sent out in areas where such minerals are prevalent and the MMCZ hopes to start seeing positive results on the export book. Monitoring is also being scaled up to plug leakages, which have for long been identified as the biggest threat to the mining sector.
