Small-scale mining sector a shining example for Africa

Mon Apr 27 2026

In Africa, Zimbabwe is one of the leading countries in transforming the mining sector into a people-centric venture where huge conglomerate produce less than what artisanal miners produce. Huge conglomerates and the ordinary people are both actively involved in real mining.

I will use Zimbabwe’s example as in mining, because I was recently there and I am very impressed. From the operational diction, Zimbabwe has transitioned from calling basic miners illegal or panners, to calling them artisanal miners.

That diction alone shows how critical and special the Zimbabwean Government values the contribution of these miners who use unsophisticated machinery but contribute more that huge companies.

Like or hate the Government of Zimbabwe, the mining sector has transformed the lives of many ordinary people and the type of homes in the villages as well as the car driven by artisanal miners, is telling.

Artisanal and small-scale miners (ASM) in Zimbabwe drove a record-breaking year in 2025, delivering 34,9 tonnes of gold to the Fidelity Gold Refinery. This performance, which represented the majority of the country’s total 46,7-tonne output, was fuelled by strong global prices, increased formalisation and supportive government policies.

Artisanal miners accounted for the vast majority of the record 46.7 tonnes produced in 2025. As of October 2025, artisanal miners had already delivered 30,99 tonnes, up from 20,4 tonnes in the same period of 2024.

Small-scale miners have increasingly dominated production, with their deliveries consistently outperforming large-scale miners (11,8 tonnes) by a wide margin. The surge in ASM production led to a 17 percent increase in total gold deliveries to FGR compared to 2024.

Many African countries envy the Zimbabwean set up but are unable to do that in the orderly manner. Western Europe has been watching the increased participation of artisanal miners in African and have come up with some funny concept called green mining.

Whatever that means, the fact is that they want to counter the growth of Africans in the mining sector and maintain post-colonial era hegemony. In Africa again, Zimbabwe included, there has been this idea of value addition and beneficiation, which Western Europe supports during the day and derides at night.

Western Europe always finds a way of blocking good things from Africa, for, to them; can anything good come out of Africa?

The West’s engagement in Africa’s mining is a complex modern “green neo colonialism” and economic deception, where Western firms prioritise securing critical raw material for their green energy transition over the industrial development of African nations.

The template is very clear, while pretending to be promoting “critical” partnerships, Western Europe strategists often focus on exporting raw minerals, rather than building local refining capacity.

To that end, lack of financial incentives and guarantees from European governments hinders investment in African mining projects, distracting local people with empty hopes and promises. Zimbabwe has been a success because it has realised the great deception, learnt from being sanctioned, and its people are participating more and more in mining.

Not that I hate these African countries but look at the Democratic Republic of Congo, (DRC), Namibia and Zambia.

Are there any real signs on the ground of value addition. Is there any common good for Africans?

But Zimbabwe has done well. The ordinary people, the Government  as well as big companies have all benefited.

On the surface, Europe’s emphasis on economic value and beneficiation in mining when dealing with African countries, rather than merely extracting resources for export, answers to the continent’s call for development.

However, Europe must walk the talk because while trying to be ‘critical partner” on paper, the European Union prefers to have a big gap between what is being promised and what is practiced.

It would be foolhardy to expect win-win deals with EU and the objective is to distract Africans from their own way of mining and entice them, with “responsible approach to resources”.

Who said Zimbabwe has not been involved in responsible mining when locals have been producing more than big companies?

This is a game played over and over again by the West, whenever they find Africa doing its things.

This has been the politics behind subtle recolonization of Africa. The West comes as a lecturer of what is good and what is bad.

Source: https://www.heraldonline.co.zw/