The Sunday Mail
FIDELITY Printers and Refiners, a subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, says it has refined and exported more than 9,3 tonnes of gold this year, and the country is on course to reach Goverment’s target of a 14-tonne haul.
Since being given the sole mandate to purchase local gold, FPR says it can pay for all deliveries.
On September 11, 2014 Government slashed royalties on gold to 5 percent from 7 percent for big mining houses. Small-scale gold producers are being levied a 2 percent presumptive tax.
Due to the reduction of gold royalties and presumptive tax, miners are expected to get a 2 percent increase in the value of what they receive for gold sold.
FPR had refined and exported 8,5 tonnes of gold as at August 31, 2014 and has since surpassed 9,3 tonnes since then.
“The company remains prepared to purchase gold as it has adequate resources at its disposal to handle surges in quantity or price or both. However, there is need to take note of the possible effect to the ability of mines to continue operating if the downward trend in the international gold price continues . . .
“The cost of transacting the 8,5 tonnes translates to about US$346,95 million, which has largely gone to miners. However, (it is) important to note that the international price of gold has since dipped to about US$1 224 per ounce from a year-to-date high of about US$1 385 per ounce,” said FPR in emailed responses to questions from The Sunday Mail Business.
The price used by FPR to buy gold is based on the prevailing London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) pm fix, which is then subject to statutory and other deductions.
The unit forecasts that the new royalty structure will likely translate to increased revenue flows to miners, both large and small-scale.
Government is licensing gold millers and elusion plant owners to become agents of FPR, a development that is meant to capture all formal production.
