ZIMBABWE’S gold export earnings increased by 8,64 percent in the first two months of 2025, reaching US$240,1 million, according to statistics from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ).
This marks a notable rise from approximately US$221 million in exports during the same period in 2024, highlighting the sector’s continued strong contribution to the national economy.
Gold exports for January 2024 amounted to US$123.1 million. However, February saw a slight decline, with exports totalling US$117 million. Despite this monthly fluctuation, the overall trend indicates a positive growth trajectory for the sector.
Gold remains Zimbabwe’s largest export commodity, playing a pivotal role in generating foreign currency. In 2024, the sector generated US$2,4 billion in export revenue for the country.
A significant portion of Zimbabwe’s gold is produced by small-scale and artisanal miners, who collectively account for around 65 percent of the country’s total gold output, underscoring the importance of these miners in the national gold value chain and the broader economy.
Zimbabwe’s gold industry has experienced strong growth in recent years, largely driven by various Government interventions, supportive policies and industry initiatives.
Significant investments have led to the reopening of old mines and increased production at existing operations. Additionally, offering small-scale miners better prices and encouraging them to sell through official channels has resulted in increased deliveries.
In 2024, gold production exceeded the Government’s target and even surpassed the previous record set in 2022, positioning Zimbabwe to become one of the major gold producers in Africa.
Leading bullion producers on the continent include Ghana, South Africa, Mali, Burkina Faso and Tanzania.
The gold mining sector has seen substantial growth since 2017, although there have been some fluctuations.
Production totalled 21,1 tonnes in 2016, but after the Government refined its policies, production rose to 24,8 tonnes in 2017 and 33,2 tonnes in 2018.
However, in 2019, gold production dropped by 16,8 percent to 27,6 tonnes. This decline followed the reintroduction of the Zimbabwean dollar, which caused issues for miners due to its volatility, as they were partly paid in the domestic currency.
The currency issues persisted into 2020, and small miners expressed dissatisfaction with how they were being paid by the country’s sole authorised gold buyer, Fidelity Gold Refinery (FGR). This led to a significant drop in deliveries, down to 19 tonnes.
The decline in gold deliveries was attributed to several factors, including high costs for miners, long payment delays from Fidelity, and a Government decision to pay only 75 percent of gold deliveries in US dollars.
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