In March the highest monthly gold output was registered, but Gapare said that mining industry was still faced by severe operational challenges. “Due to the economic problems which the country experienced in the last several years, the gold mining industry failed to recapitalise as is required by conventional practice. This has come to haunt the industry, as the capital expenditure not done during those bad years cannot be wished away,” he said.
The COMZ projected that the country’s 2010 gold output would be at around seven to eight metric tonnes, which would be an increase of about 43 per cent from 2009 figures.