Businessman Tawanda Nyambirai has warned that the new 10 per cent surrender requirement imposed on small-scale miners by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) will raise production costs, erode already thin profit margins and ultimately drive miners away from formal trading channels.
Presenting the 2026 Monetary Policy Statement on 27 February 2026, RBZ Governor John Mushayavanhu announced that small-scale gold miners — who supply the bulk of the country’s gold — will now receive 90 per cent of their payments in US dollars and 10 per cent in Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG).
The move marks a shift from the previous arrangement under which miners were paid 100 per cent in US dollars when selling their gold to the RBZ’s subsidiary, Fidelity Gold Refinery. Said Mushayavanhu:
“To ensure continued stability in the foreign exchange market, the retention threshold for exporters is maintained at 70% across all sectors of the economy, with the exception of small-scale gold producers, whose retention shall be 90%, with immediate effect.”
However, Nyambirai warned that, given the tight financial margins of small-scale gold miners, the new 10% surrender requirement could threaten their viability. He wrote on X:
“The new 10% surrender requirement imposed on small-scale miners will inevitably affect gold deliveries to Fidelity.
“The suppliers in the gold chain do not take Zig. The consumables they sell are all imported. Paying the small scale gold miner in Zig won’t help.
“Last year, my friend Mr Jayesh Shah took me to a mining site in Bindura that he invested in to support small-scale miners. It was an eye-opening experience.
“I came away with a deeper appreciation of the realities on the ground. While the processing side of the business appears relatively well supported by funders, the actual mining side is not. Small-scale mining is high-risk. Capital is scarce. Equipment fails. Ore grades fluctuate.
“As a result, many small-scale miners rely on sponsors from Harare for upfront funding. These sponsors typically take around 35% of the recovered gold.
“From what remains, the miner must then pay ore processing fees — in some cases exceeding 40% of the balance.
“Before a single statutory obligation is met, the miner’s margin is already severely compressed.
“Now add a 10% surrender requirement, on top of the 6% royalty and an effective discount of approximately 8% to the international bullion price. The cumulative effect substantially erodes what little margin remains.”
Nyambirai said there was no need for authorities to withhold 10 per cent of small-scale miners’ foreign currency earnings, warning that the move could drive them to use informal channels and ultimately fuel smuggling. He said:
“When formal channels become commercially unattractive, behaviour adjusts. Miners will seek alternative buyers.
“That means increased sales to illegal dealers, avoidance of official systems, and a likely rise in gold smuggling.
“Policy must align incentives with national interest. If the objective is to maximise official gold inflows and strengthen reserves, compliance must be more profitable than evasion.
“Why alter a framework that was functioning effectively?”
Related:
Small-Scale Gold Miners To Receive 10% Of Payments In ZiG
ZiG Year-On-Year Inflation Falls To 3.8 Percent