Is Zimbabwe’s mining industry contributing much to the economy?

The mining sector is of paramount importance in the contribution to the economy. It is a huge sector and large sums of money are expected from the gold, diamond, copper to mention just a few.

Zimbabwe has been through a lot of challenges when it comes to the economy. The country has changed from currency to currency with no hope until the dollarization.

The dollarization has reversed inflation, permitting the banking system to stabilize the economy. Different sectors contribute different sums of money to keep the economy stable. The mining sector brings in a third of the country’s export earnings

mining spot

Our country has been trailing behind the rest of the world in terms of mineral exploration and development and has lost out on major “commodity booms” enjoyed elsewhere mainly as a result of the “lost decade” (1998‐2009).

At its peak in 1986, the Zimbabwe mining sector contributed about 7% to GDP. It is also worth noting that mineral shipments for 2008 amounted to US$676m, which represented about 51% of total export shipments and 3.8% of GDP.

However, Africa is known as a mineral rich continent. A close analysis of African economies reveals that minerals and oil have been the engines driving development and a pillar for sustainable growth. For example, about 35%‐40% of Botswana‘s GDP comprises mining revenues while in Zambia mining contributes up to 10%‐15% of GDP and constitutes 80% of export earnings.

Rio Zim miners at one of the shafts.