The Chamber of Mines Zimbabwe chief executive Joseph Malaba said Zimbabwe had last year recorded the lowest production figures since Independence which had onlyearned the country US$155,5 million.

  “Gold production in volume terms peaked in recent times at 27 114 kg (1999). Production for 2007 in volume terms was only 7 017 kg. This represents a decline of 20 097 kg over a nine year period. If the country had been producing at 1999 levels the country could have earned US$604 million compared to the current US$155.5 million for 2007. So we can safely say Zimbabwe lost almost US$500 million,” he said.

  Malaba also said Zimbabwe had not gained any benefit from the surging gold prices.

  As gold reached new highs last year, production in Zimbabwe dropped severely from 10.9 tonnes to 6.8 tonnes. The international average global gold price for 2007 hovered around US$692,88 per ounce while Zimbabwe’s average was US$648,87 per ounce.

Inputs crisis

The sector was affected by erratic electricity supplies, smuggling, shortages of cyanide and mercury and very low producer prices.

However on the international market, gold continued to shatter its own records, hitting US$948 per ounce on Thursday.

Zimbabwe continues to plunge down the rankings of Africa’s top gold producers despite a gold rich environment, with the second largest gold deposits behind South Africa in the SADC region.

At its peak in 1999, Zimbabwe was third to South Africa and Ghana. In 2007, Zimbabwe was tenth and looking to drop further.

 Much of the blame has been laid squarely at the feet of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) with small scale miners saying the central bank had almost destroyed a vibrant sector.

  “They are the sole buyer of gold in the country and yet they always react slowly to the shifts in the economy. We cant survive unless serious action is taken on time,” said Kizito Makuverere, a small scale miner.

  Early last month RBZ increased the support price of gold from $10 million per

gramme to $100 million per gramme.