GOLD output for the third quarter of 2023 rose by 0,4% with Artisanal- Small-Scale -Gold-Miners dominating the list as the largest producers, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) third-quarter 2023 report has revealed.
The central bank report has revealed that compared to last year, there was a slight increase in terms of output.
"Gold output stood at 8 601.77 kgs in the third quarter of 2023, which is about 0.4% higher than 8 567.93 kgs produced in the second quarter of 2023. The third quarter of 2023 output was 16% lower compared to the same period in 2022," the report said.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, gold output was boosted by increased output from both the Artisanal Small-scale Gold Miners (ASGM) and large-scale miners whose output increased by 4% and 3%, respectively in the third quarter of 2023 when compared to the second quarter of 2023.
"The ASGM miners delivered 60% (5,175 kgs) of the total gold deliveries during the third quarter of 2023 with large scale producers and secondary scale producers accounting for 36% and 4%, respectively. Figure 12 shows sectoral contributions to total gold output during the period under review," the central bank report said.
However, during the same period gold deliveries to Fidelity Gold Printers (FGP) fell 13% to 19.335 tonnes in the first eight months of this year from 22.289 tonnes in the prior comparative period.
Given that the government pays within a week, it is claimed that the miners are diverting the yellow metal to alternative markets that pay instantly.
Market watchers believe that there is a need to introduce new policies to ramp up production and capitalise on firm strong commodity prices.
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