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Zimbabwe is endowed with numerous mineral resources such as diamonds, gold and platinum reserves as well as reserves encompassing 60 different types of minerals

Bulawayo Bureau
A BILL on mineral exploration is set to be tabled before Parliament with legislators pushing for a comprehensive resource evaluation that will pave the way for increased investment in the mining sector.

Mining is strategic towards accelerated economic growth and wealth creation through the government’s blueprint – the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim-Asset).

Chegutu West MP Dexter Nduna moved the motion for the proposed Bill during discussions in the National Assembly on Friday and was seconded by Bulawayo South legislator Eddie Cross.

Mr Nduna said judicious exploitation of the country’s abundant natural resources was critical for Zim-Asset’s success hence the need to channel more resources towards mineral exploitation.

Zimbabwe is endowed with numerous mineral resources such as diamonds, gold and platinum reserves as well as reserves encompassing 60 different types of minerals.

The legislator expressed concern that despite such an abundance of mineral wealth, the country does not have geological information and has not done comprehensive exploration to date to determine the quantity of its mineral resources.

“The information concerning the nation’s mineral wealth that can be obtained by exploration will simultaneously attract foreign investment, increase the country’s net worth as well as strengthen the value of mines and claims already in indigenous hands, setting the necessary preconditions for locally driven growth in the mining industry,” said Mr Nduna.

He urged the executive to expedite allocation of resources towards mineral exploration and establishment of a database containing up to date geological information.

“Urgently bring before Parliament a Minerals Exploration Bill to promote resource evaluation, reserve definition and ultimately, resource extraction. The Exploration Bill that I seek to have brought to Parliament is very key,” Mr Nduna added.

He said the proposed Bill would enable Zimbabwe to know its mineral worth and address the prevailing inadequacies rocking the sector.

“We’ve the Great Dyke that passes through our nation in which resides more than 46 minerals; gold is one of them and platinum is the other. By bringing to Parliament the Bill or the Act for exploration, I seek that the nation gets to know what it is worth; not only because the Great Dyke passes through this nation, but because we know for a fact that there are minerals that are being exploited as we speak,” he said.

“There are minerals that are being excavated and involved in propping up the economy of this nation.”

The legislator alluded to the discovery of diamonds in Marange and platinum in Ngezi, Mashonaland West, and gold in Chegutu as indicators of the necessity to conduct a thorough exploration.

The exercise, he said, will assist the country to know resource quality, quantity, grade and the mineral occurrence.

“Exploration is also going to remove issues of resource estimation, which are unfounded. If that Exploration Bill and Act does not come to Parliament, we’ll not know our worthiness as a country, economically,” said Mr Nduna.

“The ultimate goal of mineral exploration is the extraction, the profitability and beneficial sale of our mineral commodities.

Over the years Zimbabwe has battled concerns over illicit outflows and leakages of mineral resources with little success.

Recently Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa complained that big mining corporates were not giving genuine production reports and figures on their operations.

Economic analysts say is not easy to tackle the problem as long as the country continues to sell its minerals without the knowledge as to what mining firms were doing and how much reserves they had.

“If we don’t conduct exploration, we’re devoid of the knowledge of our mineral worth. We open and leave ourselves to chance and our mineral wealth will be exploited and pilfered to countries such as South Africa and other countries outside our borders,” Mr Nduna added.