The Sunday Mail
Sunday Mail Reporter
OVER 500 small-scale miners are set to receive equipment and technical expertise from Freda Rebecca Gold Mine.
The firm will also buy gold from artisanal miners operating under its claims.
The gold mining giant’s general manager, Mr Eliakem Hove, said the company was mopping up gold in its claims on over 60 000 hectares in Manicaland and Mashonaland provinces. Fidelity Refiners and Printers licensed Freda Rebecca Gold Mine to buy the metal from artisanal miners.
The company is offering US$45 per gramme of gold, which is being paid by Fidelity Printers.
Said Mr Hove: “We are buying gold from small-scale miners who are operating from our claims. We are mobilising unaccounted gold and officialise it to Fidelity Refiners and Printers. This gesture helps ensure transparency within the gold sector.
“We have close to 500 small-scale miners whom we are empowering through this initiative.”
Under the deal, Freda Rebecca has also partnered leading commercial bank, CBZ, to buy and handle the gold.
The financial institution will use its extensive network to service the over 500 small-scale miners. Recently, Freda Rebecca officially launched a pilot gold-buying centre in Harare to counter unscrupulous buyers in the capital city.
“To protect the interests of artisanal miners, they will be paid their full dues for gold delivered in United States Dollars in CBZ banking halls,” said Freda Rebecca Mine.
“The bank will also help the small-scale miners with investment advisory services to help them grow their operations into major mining houses”.
Gold is a major foreign currency earner in Zimbabwe and the Government has been pushing to plug loopholes in the trade of the mineral.
