Zimbabwe gold output plummets as mines close
By Nelson Banya
HARARE, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's gold output, which accounts for a third of its export earnings, hit an all-time monthly low of 125 kg in October as economic crisis forced more mine closures, a mining official said on Thursday.
The sector has virtually shut down as miners cannot fund operations, senior Zimbabwe chamber of mines official Douglas Verden told Reuters.
At its peak, Zimbabwe produced more than 2,400 kg of gold monthly, but miners, who are owed millions of dollars by the central bank and have to cope with the world's highest inflation rate above 231 million percent, have ground to a halt.
"Gold production came in at an all-time low of 125 kilogrammes in October, down from 275 kilogrammes in September and we expect it to go below 100 kilogrammes in November as more mines stopped production," Verden said.
Gold contributes a third of Zimbabwe's export earnings after the collapse of commercial agriculture following President Robert Mugabe's seizure of white-owned farms to resettle landless blacks.
The mining chamber says gold miners, who receive only 40 percent of their earnings in foreign currency, are owed over $30 million by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ).
Zimbabwe's gold output fell by a third to below 7,000 kg in 2007, having come in at 11,000 kg the previous year. The country produced almost 30,000 kg in 1999.
Earlier this month, Zimbabwe's largest gold miner, Metallon Gold, which is owed $20 million by the RBZ, closed its five mines, putting about 3,500 jobs in jeopardy.
Verden said Metallon -- which accounts for more than half Zimbabwe's total gold production -- had not resumed operations.
"They are still not operating, we have made representions to the mines ministry and the central bank. The authorities know the situation, but we don't know if they are unwilling or unable to do something about it," he said.
Apart from funds owed by the central bank, Zimbabwean miners are plagued by frequent power cuts, the flight of skilled labour and foreign currency shortages.
Many Zimbabweans have pinned hopes for economic recovery on a power-sharing deal signed by Mugabe and opposition rival Morgan Tsvangirai, but the pact has been threatened by a dispute over the control of key ministries.
