HARARE – Mutapa Gold Resources (MGR) is moving to integrate artisanal miners operating around its Phoenix Springs operation at Freda Rebecca Mine, as the gold producer develops a model that could bring informal miners into a more structured mining arrangement.

MGR general manager for contract mining Tirivashe Vere said the company had inherited artisanal mining activities around Phoenix Springs and was now engaging stakeholders on how the miners could benefit from the development.

“We were having a stakeholder awareness day and engagement which just brings people up to speed on the Phoenix Springs operation that’s at Freda Rebecca Mine,” Vere said.

“Phoenix Springs is part of our mining lease 21. So the area has got artisanal mining activities that we have inherited.”

Vere said the company was working to clarify expectations among stakeholders as it developed the concept in the Pindura area.

“There were a lot of expectations that were not clear from different stakeholders that we had to clear,” he said.

The engagement included a question-and-answer session and discussions with key stakeholders, with Vere describing the feedback as positive.

“For the whole day we have been engaging, got into a question and answer session and also a closed deal session with most critical stakeholders. The outcome is very positive and we’ve got some takeaways,” he said.

Vere said MGR would consider the feedback as it finalises its approach to working with artisanal miners.

“We’ll deal with all the feedback that has come through as we are also in a formative stage of developing this concept in the Pindura area and we expect everyone who is involved to get some benefit out of the engagements from today,” he said.

He said the response had been encouraging, particularly around efforts to address challenges at the mining site.

“The general response from the crowd and from the people engaged has been positive, looking at problem solving and almost all the things that were said are supposed to address the issues and improve the place,” Vere said.

“So we take that as a very positive response.”

The initiative comes as Zimbabwe steps up efforts to bring artisanal and small-scale miners into the formal mining economy, recognising their growing contribution to gold production and rural livelihoods.

Government has repeatedly said it supports small-scale mining while pushing for safer, more sustainable and formalised operations.

In January 2025, the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development said small-scale mining had not been banned, stressing that government “supports small scale mining and values economic contributions from the subsector”, while also emphasising safety and sustainability.

The sector has become a major pillar of Zimbabwe’s gold industry. Small-scale miners accounted for more than 70% of gold deliveries in 2025, producing about 34.9 tonnes out of a record 46.7 tonnes delivered to Fidelity Gold Refinery.

Government has introduced various measures aimed at formalising the sector, including efforts to promote responsible mining, improve access to gold markets and bring artisanal and small-scale miners into formal supply chains.

Fidelity Gold Refinery has established gold buying centres, mobile buying units and one-stop service centres to make formal gold trading more accessible to small-scale producers.

MGR’s proposed approach at Phoenix Springs could provide a model for integrating existing artisanal operations with a larger mining company while addressing concerns around mining practices, stakeholder expectations and economic benefits for surrounding communities.