Finance minister Mthuli Ncube has ‘reneged’ on a cabinet-approved plan to cut two percent royalty fee on gold delivery at Fidelity Printers and Refiners, which would immensely benefit small scale producers and improve spot prices offered by the state monopoly.

This comes as a number of industry players have been complaining about a raft of cumbersome taxes, totalling nearly 18 percent and the Zimbabwe economics tzar has announced numerous strategies, including in his 2021 national budget, that bullion production can be raised through price negotiations between the monopoly and artisanal miners to reach the target 24 tonnes by 2025.

More to follow….