PRISCILLA MWILA
Lusaka
AS PART of efforts to curb illegal gold mining, Government is in the process of engaging an institution to help develop a clear traceability system that will enable it to establish which areas of the country have gold deposits.
Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development Permanent Secretary Hapenga Kabeta said some individuals have been coming into the country with equipment to identify areas where gold is found, a situation he said has encouraged illegal mining.
Dr Kabeta said that for more than 100 years, Zambia has been a large-scale mining country, but gold was not part of the sector.
He said this when World Gold Council chief executive officer David Tait and council partners called on him at his office yesterday.
“Because of this, there has been a lot of gold rush in the country; there have been a lot of illegalities regarding gold.
“This is why we want to implement this technology. We need the traceability system to work with other systems and deal with this matter,” Dr Kabeta said.
He said most people involved in gold mining are young and lack proper training, hence the ministry has allocated resources to train them in safe mining methods.
Dr Kabeta said Government has so far trained people in Solwezi, Mufumbwe, Mpika and Kabwe to sensitise them on how mining activities should be done.
He said plans are also underway to establish the Zambia Gold Trade Agency, an institution that will be responsible for buying gold, allowing the Bank of Zambia to acquire its share before the agency exports the remainder.
Zambia Gold Trade Agency will buy gold at a competitive price to motivate people to sell the commodity.
And Mr Tait said the council can help establish standard processing plants to make Zambian gold acceptable on the international market, as well as assist to address artisanal mining.
He said the council has been implementing the gold processing initiative in various countries to address issues related to artisanal mining.
Mr Tait said the project involves the introduction of traceability technology from mining sites to processing plants.
He also said the council intends to roll out thousands of processing plants relevant to mining countries.
Artisanal Gold Council national project manager Abigail Mwailenge said the council wants to complement Government’s efforts in the proper management of gold in the country. https://enews.daily-mail.co.zm/welcome/home
