Denford Magora's Latest Zimbabwe News Blog

Earlier this year, small-scale miners such as these ones mining diamonds in Marange, had to cough up US$20 000 each to be given licences so that they would not be harassed by the police as they panned and dug for gold and diamonds. Now, all those licences have been rescinded and they are not getting a penny of their money back. Politicians who had also paid the money to get claims they could speculate with are livid. And they are now after the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Mines, a former colleague of Gideon Gono at the Reserve Bank. Harare, Zimbabwe, 22 November 2009 The government of Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai has stolen US$800 000 collected as fees from struggling small-scale miners in Zimbabwe, who had to cough it up in order to be given "licences" to continue or commence their backbreaking activities. Instead of giving them the licences, however, the government has simply turned around and "nullified" all licences and applications from the min...

This is the best that Zimbabwe can do: licensing small scale gold and diamond miners who get robbed blind by the political connected and cross-border conman. The fruits of their labour is largely bought for song and spirited out of the country. Zimbabwe itself does not benefit. This is unlikely to change, as mining companies are still operating at 25% capacity or less, despite the promises of the Inclusive Government in April this year Harare, Zimbabwe, 07 October 2009 Gold prices shot to over US$1000 an ounce yesterday on the international market as investors fled a sinking US dollar. There were also rumours that China and Middle Eastern countries had met to conspire to dump US dollars as the pricing currency for oil. Gold mining companies everywhere are celebrating. The Rand in South Africa will now almost certainly strengthen significantly, as it does whenever gold prices firm. But Zimbabwe, with gold deposits that have been officially estimated to last more than 75 years if mined t...

While waiting for Mugabe or Tsvangirai to do things for them, Zimbabweans, especially those in the diaspora, have been so mentally damaged by the 30 year socialist rule of Mugabe that they fail to get together to take advantages of opportunities back home. They fail to realise that it is only they who have the emotional resources to press ahead with the development of such things as the Chiadzwa Diamond fields and other mineral to be mined in Zimbabwe. Harare, Zimbabwe, 17 September 2009 I got an email yesterday from Mark, an American who says he is interested in the Zimbabwe situation but does not know any Zimbabweans in the United States. His email was prompted, he said, by my articles in which I repeatedly mention that Zimbabwe has vast mineral resources, including diamonds, gold and platinum. Mark wanted to know why it is that, with 3 million Zimbabweans said to be working outside the country, they are not pooling resources to develop these minerals. Quite rightly, he mentions seve...

Gold Nugget: Despite Zimbabwe's vast mineral resources, including first-class diamonds, gold, platinum and uranium, no one wants to come in and invest because they do not trust the ZANU PF government. Morgan Tsvangirai will appear with Mugabe at an International Mining Indaba in Harare next week Wednesday and Thursday. The move may be detrimental to his image, since he has no means to ensure that Mugabe behaves afterwards. Harare, Zimbabwe, 10 September 2009 Next week on Wednesday and Thursday, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai will join President Robert Mugabe at an International Mining Indaba convened by the Zimbabwe "government". He is due to deliver a speech, as is Mugabe. Most gold and diamond mining companies in Zimbabwe had scaled down operations drastically, with companies like Bindura shutting down some furnaces as the effects of Zimbabwe dollar hyperinflation and Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe's choking policies took effect. Investors in the mining sector have been...

A day after Zimbabwe police announced a crackdown on "illegal small-scale gold miners in Mashonaland central Province" just like the diamond miners shown in Chiadzwa in the photo above, comes an announcement that three people have died "of suffocation" in the same province in an active mine shaft. The three, one woman and two men are said to have been attempting to steal gold ore. Harare, Zimbabwe, 26 August 2009 Three people have died in Shamva (one of Zimbabwe's richest gold areas). The three died at a claim called Marodzi Ten in the Concession/Shamva area. The three have been named as Marvelous Kuyeri, aged 35, Tinashe Chari, aged 23 and Petros Kambira, aged 26. According to Mazowe police (Mazowe is the nearest district), Marvelous Kuyeri entered the mine shaft just after midnight "intending to steal gold ore" and was overcome by fumes from a diesel generator that had been left running to drain water from gold mine. She called out for help and the ...

Feeling the heat: Gideon Gono, seen here with his principal, Robert "The Solution" Mugabe, is now twisting this way and that, fighting to get back the enormous powers that the Zimbabwe dollar gave him. All his suggestions and justifications in the Fingaz newspaper today are merely designed to help his case for the return of the Zimdollar, so that he can yet again print more money and exercise the financial indiscipline for which he is famous the world over. Harare, Zimbabwe, 20 August 2009 Zimbabwe is very lucky to have Tendai Biti as Finance in light of recent noises by Gideon Gono, the Reserve Bank Governor calling for the reintroduction of the Zimbabwe dollar. The calls by Gideon Gono defy common sense, but not if you know what his game is. The advent of the US dollar and South African Rand in Zimbabwe has cut the ground from underneath Gideon Gono. He was used to printing money willy-nilly, which money he would disperse at Roadport in Harare and other centres all over Zim...