During last week’s Mine Entra indaba in Bulawayo, head of Gold Development Initiative Fund (GDIF) at Fidelity Printers and Refiners, Mr Matthew Chidavaenzi spoke of the plentiful opportunities that await in the gold sector.

“The country is currently sitting on 13 million tonnes of gold deposits and this is proven. Since 1980 only 580 tonnes have been exploited. So, as Zimbabwe we still have a long way to go,” he said.

Mr Chidavaenzi went on to emphasise the benefits which properly managed gold reserves would bring along.

“The gold that the country is sitting on, if managed properly, can be the breakthrough of the economic development that is so much desired in the country.

“The country, if it is to export this gold, can bag over a trillion of US dollars,” he said.

Mr Chidavaenzi urged those in the mining sector to take up the challenge and beat the 30-tonne gold production target set by the Government this year. The sector had already brought in a massive 28 tonnes by end of third quarter of 2018.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe noted that the country has the potential to earn more than $4 billion per annum from gold experts, if it fully exploits its vast reserves.

Meanwhile, the African Medallion Group’s (AMG) gold reserves last week breached the $412 million mark in the 10 months to October.

“The African Medallion Group is pleased with the current global Gold markets performance. On October 5, 2018, gold was trading at an average of R17’848, which is a 10,43 percent increase since January 1, 2018 when gold was trading at an average of R16’150,” the group said in a statement to shareholders.