Harare — In a major step toward commercializing the informal mining sector, the Government of Zimbabwe has announced a US$63 million credit guarantee scheme established through a strategic partnership between the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ) and FBC Bank.

The landmark facility—officially slated for launch on November 12 with seven initial beneficiary projects lined up for immediate support—aims to transition artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) operations into sustainable, well-capitalized commercial enterprises.

Expanding Access to Capital Beyond Gold

The initiative was disclosed by Ministry of Mines and Mining Development Permanent Secretary Dr. Thomas Utete Wushe during the Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) Annual General Meeting in Harare. For years, small-scale operators have driven national output but faced severe constraints in accessing formal development finance.

While artisanal and small-scale miners remain the backbone of the industry—contributing 74.5 percent of Zimbabwe’s record 46.7 tonnes of gold produced in 2025—the new US$63 million facility places a vital focus on non-gold minerals, broadening financial backing across the wider mineral commodities spectrum.

Reflecting the sector’s soaring trajectory, the government has revised its long-term mining vision from a US$12 billion framework to an ambitious US$15 billion economy, with gold projected to anchor roughly 65 percent of that value. Although the 2026 national gold production target is officially set at 50 tonnes, Dr. Wushe expressed confidence that output holds much greater potential, stating that the nation could realistically push toward 100 tonnes.

Overhauling State Support and Simplifying Access

To ensure maximum uptake and impact, the government has instituted sweeping reforms across its funding vehicles:

• Restructuring the Mining Industry Loan Fund: Past administrative barriers—including inflated equipment pricing and cumbersome application procedures—have been removed. Revised pricing models and streamlined requirements are now in place to encourage broader participation.

• Decentralized Governance: Provincial Affairs Boards will be deployed across all eight mining districts, embedding ZMF representatives alongside Provincial Mining Directors in regional decision-making workflows.

• Anti-Corruption Measures: Government, the Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe, and the ZMF are cooperating closely to eliminate bureaucratic bottlenecks and stamp out rent-seeking practices.

Raising the Bar on Compliance and Professionalism

Addressing delegates at the AGM, re-elected ZMF President Henrietta Rushwaya—whose leadership mandate was extended by seven years—stressed that the small-scale sector must embrace high standards of corporate responsibility and regulatory compliance.

She emphasized that environmental stewardship, strict land rehabilitation, and operating exclusively within designated mining zones are non-negotiable requirements if the sector is to retain long-term government backing.

By coupling financial injections like the US$63 million FBC Bank facility with stringent governance and structured accountability, Zimbabwe is laying a strong foundation for small-scale miners to operate safely, transparently, and profitably as core drivers of national economic development.

Zimplats Holdings (ASX: ZIM) began a new leadership chapter on 1 November 2026. Dr Stanley John Segula became chief executive, succeeding Alexander Mhembere, who retired after 19 years in the role. In an ASX announcement dated 30 October, the company said Mhembere joined as CEO on 1 October 2007. He will stay on as chairman of the operating subsidiary, Zimbabwe Platinum Mines (ZPM).

The board has also appointed two independent non-executive directors, Clara Petronella Sadomba and Gugulethu Rose Ngwenya, also effective 1 November.

For a listed company with a long-serving CEO, an internal succession is the lowest-risk way to hand over. Segula has been Managing Director of ZPM since May 2015. He has previously been Chief Operating Officer and Senior General Manager/Group Executive – Mining. Zimplats says he has more than 30 years of experience across the mining value chain.

Background: a long-tenured leader and a planned handover

Mhembere’s tenure covers most of the modern Zimplats story. The company credits him with moving it from its early open-pit origins to a predominantly mechanised underground operation with integrated processing. During his time the company advanced a US$1.8 billion investment programme covering mine replacement and development, more concentrator capacity and an upgrade of the Selous smelter that tripled smelting capacity. A 35MW solar plant at Selous was commissioned as the first phase of a planned 185MW renewable programme.

Succession at Zimplats has long been expected. Segula has run the operating subsidiary for more than a decade, and a retiring CEO staying on as ZPM chairman keeps institutional knowledge close. That arrangement also raises a governance question, discussed below.

The new directors

Clara Sadomba is a metallurgical engineer with an MEng from McGill University and a Professional Engineer registration in Zimbabwe. She has more than 26 years in mineral processing, mining operations, international mineral marketing and logistics. Her career at Zimasco culminated in the role of General Manager – Marketing. She founded the mining logistics firm Silvergill Enterprises and chairs the Mining Industry Pension Fund Board.

Gugulethu Ngwenya has 25 years of business experience, 14 of them in senior or executive roles. She holds an MBA and an honours degree in geology from the University of Zimbabwe, plus a short-term insurance diploma from Unisa. Her background spans insurance, financial services, enterprise risk and environmental and SHEQ work. She is a co-founder and director of @Connect Global Solutions. Zimplats says she will serve on the board’s Safety, Health and Community Committee.

What it means

Continuity over reinvention. Promoting Segula signals that the board wants to finish the existing investment programme rather than change course. This should reassure shareholders, lenders and suppliers who depend on predictable project delivery.

Processing and marketing expertise on the board. Sadomba’s experience in smelting, mine-to-smelter integration and export logistics matches the direction Zimplats has taken with its Selous smelter investment. It could sharpen board scrutiny of processing economics and offtake arrangements. Her seat does not, on its own, change Zimbabwe’s beneficiation outcomes. That depends on policy, pricing and the company’s own investment decisions.

Risk and safety oversight. Ngwenya’s risk and environmental background fits a business exposed to underground safety hazards, power supply, commodity prices and community relations. Her place on the Safety, Health and Community Committee points to where the board expects scrutiny.

Governance to watch. A former CEO of 19 years chairing the main operating subsidiary can aid continuity, but it also means the new CEO works alongside a very experienced predecessor. Investors will look at how reporting lines and decision rights are managed in practice. This is analysis, not a company statement.

The outlook for Zimplats

Platinum group metals earnings depend heavily on global prices and on demand from automotive catalysts and industry, which the company does not control. What it can control is cost, output and capital discipline. Four areas will shape how the market judges the new team:

1. Project delivery. Mine replacement and development must keep pace with ore depletion at existing operations.
2. Smelter and concentrator performance. The expanded capacity needs to translate into reliable throughput and recoveries.
3. Energy. Delivery of the remaining phases of the 185MW renewable plan matters for both cost and supply security, given Zimbabwe’s power constraints.
4. Local value. Procurement from Zimbabwean suppliers, skills development and community investment will remain central to the company’s standing with government and host communities.

For the wider economy, Zimplats matters as an exporter, employer and anchor customer for local suppliers. Stable, credible leadership at such a company supports the investment climate in the mining sector, although it cannot substitute for policy certainty.

Business Diary Analysis

The leadership changes show a board managing succession deliberately: continuity at the top, additional specialist depth around the table. Neither move guarantees performance. Boards are judged on the quality of questions they ask and the discipline they impose on management. For Segula, the measures will be production, unit costs, capital returns and safety, not the length of his CV. The experience now on the board is only valuable if it improves those numbers.

Key takeaways

• Dr Stanley Segula became Zimplats CEO on 1 November 2026, succeeding Alexander Mhembere after 19 years.
• Mhembere remains chairman of Zimbabwe Platinum Mines, which aids continuity but concentrates experience in two roles.
• Clara Sadomba (metallurgy, mineral marketing, logistics) and Gugulethu Ngwenya (risk, insurance, environmental systems) joined as independent non-executive directors.
• The investment programme, smelter performance, renewable power and safety record are the key tests ahead.

What’s next?

Watch the company’s next quarterly operating update and its annual general meeting for production figures, cost trends, capital expenditure guidance and any commentary on strategy from the new CEO.

Zimbabwe gold deliveries to Fidelity Gold Refinery (FGR) reached 35.88 tonnes in the nine months to September 2026, about 72 percent of the 50-tonne annual target, according to figures published on 15 and 16 October 2026. Reaching the target requires another 14.12 tonnes by December.

The total is 8.8 percent above the 32.98 tonnes delivered in the same period of 2025, according to Fidelity figures reported by The Herald last year. That is slower than the 37 percent growth recorded a year earlier. Last year’s full-year deliveries of 46.7 tonnes were a record, FGR chief executive Peter Magaramombe told the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation in January.

Gold also carries weight in foreign currency earnings. Ministry of Mines and Mining Development figures show deliveries were worth about US$5.2 billion at prevailing international prices, or 52 percent of the US$9.93 billion earned by the sector from mineral sales and gold in the first nine months, The Herald reported on 13 October.

Quarterly pattern

Deliveries rose in every quarter: 9.31 tonnes in the first, 12.09 tonnes in the second and 14.48 tonnes in the third. August was the peak month at about 5.12 tonnes. September eased to 4.72 tonnes.

Small-scale and artisanal miners delivered 25.78 tonnes, up about 5 percent from 24.45 tonnes in the same period of 2025. Large-scale producers delivered 10.10 tonnes, up about 18 percent from 8.54 tonnes. The growth rates are Business Diary calculations from the published figures.

Policy and payment terms

The Herald attributed the formal inflows to foreign-currency payout ratios and support funds for small-scale miners, along with sustained high global gold prices. Mining Zimbabwe and Equity Axis reported that Fidelity moved to live spot prices in early 2026 and that a 90:10 foreign-currency payment structure for small-scale miners took effect after February, following a Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe directive. Those terms matter because small-scale miners supply most of the gold.

Reaching 50 tonnes

The Herald calculated that deliveries must average about 4.71 tonnes a month through December, 18 percent above the year-to-date average of 3.99 tonnes. At about 4 tonnes a month, the full year would exceed 47.8 tonnes and surpass last year’s record. The upper end of a 50 to 55-tonne range would need a 60 percent jump in monthly output, according to the same report.

Weather is the main seasonal risk. New Zimbabwe reported that delayed rains should limit the usual fourth-quarter slowdown. In 2023, the Reserve Bank attributed a 14.7 percent fall in deliveries to power outages and heavy rains early in the year.

Key figures

• Deliveries, January to September 2026: 35.88 tonnes (FGR, reported 15 October 2026)
• Same period 2025: 32.98 tonnes (FGR, reported by The Herald, 2025)
• Small-scale miners: 25.78 tonnes; large-scale miners: 10.10 tonnes (FGR, January to September 2026)
• Value of deliveries: about US$5.2 billion (Ministry of Mines, reported 13 October 2026)

What to watch

Fidelity’s October and November figures will show whether the 4.71-tonne monthly pace is achievable as the rainy season starts. The direction of the international gold price and the effect of the 90:10 payment terms on small-scale deliveries are the other variables to track.