FIDELITY Gold Refineries (FGR) has reported a 75% decline in monthly gold deliveries from artisanal miners at 552kg as compared to 2,643kg in October.

This represents the lowest contribution by small-scale and artisanal miners in years.

Last year FGR received 2,960kg from the sector in the same period under review.

Although FGR did not explain the decline, earlier reports by NewZimbabwe.com which predicted the decline, indicate artisanal and small-scale miners were up in arms with the government's move to pay them partly in Zimbabwe's weak dollar.

Government proclaimed that they be paid 75% in US dollars and the remainder in Zimbabwe's currency, a move they vowed to resist.

Those who spoke to NewZimbabwe.com indicated that they had no use for the Zimbabwean dollar as their industry was not just hard currency-based but made it difficult for them to access Zimbabwe dollars.

They accused government of trying to raise civil servants bonuses by taking advantage of them and said deliveries would be slowed until the matter was rectified.

An FGR employee who talked to NewZimbabwe.com on condition of anonymity said artisanal and small-scale miners had virtually stopped deliveries last month.

''We hear this was meant to raise money to pay civil servants' bonuses but from what we are seeing the plan is backfiring. Artisanal miners have virtually stopped deliveries because they feel government should have communicated or discussed with them,'' said the source.

''Most of them rarely use the local currency, they do not have bank accounts or use RTGS transfer platforms, they only know US dollars.''

Artisanal and small-scale miners contribute about 60% of the national gold output.