Fidelity Gold Refinery (Fidelity) says it is confident Zimbabwe will meet its ambitious 50-tonne gold production target this year, building on the record 46.7 tonnes delivered in 2025.
Appearing before the Public Accounts Committee last week, Fidelity general manager Peter Magaramombe said the refinery’s outlook remains positive, citing strong government backing and growth in mining activity.
“Last year…we achieved 46,7 tonnes. And for this year, 2026, we have a target of 50 tonnes,” Magaramombe said.
“And I can assure you, we will achieve that target. We have put in place all of the necessary strategies, and we are very happy with all the support that we are getting from our government in the form of favourable policies, so that we achieve that target,” he said.
As part of efforts to boost gold deliveries, Fidelity — Zimbabwe’s exclusive, state-authorized buyer, refiner, and exporter of gold — plans to establish three additional gold sales centres and three new gold buying points in Inyathi, Bubi, and Chimanimani.
Magaramombe said artisanal and small-scale miners remain central to the country’s gold production ambitions, with more than 1 000 miners already benefiting from the Gold Development Initiative Fund – a financing programme designed to help operators acquire machinery and improve productivity.
“What we realised is that our artisanal and small-scale miners have the potential to do more in terms of gold production, but what is lacking is capacitation,” he said.
“They don’t have the requisite equipment or machinery to extract gold.”
He said the funding model has delivered encouraging results since introduction in 2016.
“So far, from 2016 up to now, there has been some very good progress. Whenever we fund these miners…we have some very good benefits because every other day, the gold deliveries are increasing,” Magaramombe said.
The optimism comes on the back of mixed performance in the first quarter of the year.
While output rose 8,3 percent year-on-year to 9,31 tonnes during the period, production dropped sharply in March following the introduction of a 10 percent ZiG retention policy in late February.
Concerns remain over the sector’s reliance on informal mining activity, with experts warning that the dominance of unregulated players continues to create opportunities for mineral leakages.
Zimbabwe’s gold sector posted a historic performance in 2025, with output reaching a record 46,73 tonnes, a 28 percent increase from the 36,48 tonnes produced the previous year, driven by firm international prices and continued policy support.