The Sunday Mail
Sunday Mail Reporter
Gold agent and Better Brands Jewellery (BBJ) founder Mr Scott Sakupwanya was named the most influential and innovative mining director by the Institute of Corporate Directors Zimbabwe (ICDZ) last week, while the Chartered Institute of Project Managers Zimbabwe (CIPMZ) recognised him as one of the top executives under 40.
BBJ has delivered 850 kilogrammes of gold to Fidelity Printers and Refiners (FPR) so far this year, including empowering more than 5 000 artisanal miners.
“Having been in the trenches since 2006, we (BBJ) are truly humbled by these awards and our mission is to continue working with as many artisanal miners as possible to boost production in the gold sector in line with President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s US$12 billion mining sector vision by 2023,” said Mr Sakupwanya.
BBJ is understood to be one of the top three suppliers of gold to Fidelity Printers and Refiners (FPR).
According to Mr Sakupwanya, Government decision to partially privatise FPR will curb gold smuggling and shore up earnings from the mineral. FPR will be unbundled into two units — gold refining, and the printing and minting units.
RBZ will retain its 100 percent shareholding in the printing and minting business for security reasons, and dispose 60 percent shareholding in the refining business to small and large-scale gold producers.
Using the three-year average delivery to FPR, the RBZ will offer 50 percent to large-scale producers, 3 percent to major gold buying agents and 7 percent to small-scale producers through the representative bodies.
