Gold deliveries up 26% in September

GOLD deliveries to Fidelity Gold Refinery (FGR) were up 26,24% last month on August’s figures, latest data shows, as the yellow metal recovers with Zimbabwe chasing a targeted output of 40 tonnes this year.

The September data was an increase from August’s 2 479,7759kg in gold deliveries.

However, comparing September’s gold deliveries to the comparative 2022 period, production for the yellow mineral was down 7,28% from last year’s 3 376kgs.

From the gold produced last month, FGR reported that large scale producers delivered 961,1361kg while artisanal miners delivered 2 169,5769kg.

According to FGR data, in the nine months of the year, a total of 22 465,8953kgs of gold was produced with small-scale miners providing 61,87%, while large-scale gold producers made up the remainder.

The output in the nine months to September puts doubts on Zimbabwe’s capacity to meet its 40 tonnes output projections this year.

The average price per kilogramme during the nine months was US$62 028,3436

Gold deliveries were down nearly 16% during the first four months of the year to 8,57 tonnes (8 570,7886 kilogrammes) compared to 2022 owing to rains.

In May, Zimbabwe Miners Federation president Henrietta Rushwaya projected that despite a slow start in the year, the sector would surpass last year’s gold production of 33 tonnes.

Last month, the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat) reported that from the US$603,2 million worth of exported goods, 21,6% was from gold.

“Zimbabwe’s trade deficit decreased from US$179,8 million in July 2023 to US$170,1 million in August 2023. This follows an increase of exports by 7,7% from US$60,2 million in July 2023 to US$649,8 million in August 2023 while imports rose by a lower magnitude of 4,7% from US$ 783,1 million to US$ 819,9 million in the same period,” Zimstat said.

“Major exports comprised semi-manufactured gold (21,6%), nickel mattes (17,3%), tobacco (13%), and other mineral substances (21,5%). Main imports during the same period were composed of mineral fuels and mineral products (19,4%), machinery and mechanical appliances (14,2%), vehicles (8,4%), and electrical machinery and equipment (6,6%).”-newsday