Zimbabwe mining reforms are being introduced to attract exploration finance and expand the country’s pipeline of new mines, Mines and Mining Development Minister Polite Kambamura said at the Mine Entra Exploration Symposium.
The minister said Zimbabwe has the geology and human capital needed to support exploration but requires greater access to exploration finance to convert its mineral potential into new discoveries and employment opportunities.
“We have the geology, we have the human capital, what we now need is exploration finance,” he said, adding that equity, loans and other forms of finance should flow into Zimbabwe to support exploration.
Zimbabwe Mining Reforms Focus on Geological Data and Digital Systems
The Zimbabwe mining reforms include the modernisation of the Zimbabwe Geological Survey through systematic recovery and digitisation of geological records, core libraries and databases.
The minister said geological reports, maps and drill logs produced around the time of Zimbabwe’s independence had left the country, making it more difficult for investors to access historical exploration data.
He said the government is also introducing a computerised mining cadastral system to make mining titles clear, secure, searchable and transferable.
According to the minister, systematic exploration has remained below Zimbabwe’s geological potential for about three decades, but advances in technology now provide opportunities to improve exploration efficiency.
He said high-resolution airborne magnetic, radiometric, gravity and electromagnetic surveys, together with satellite imagery, drones, three-dimensional modelling and artificial intelligence, could help identify drill-ready targets more quickly. He added that AI would support geologists by integrating decades of geological maps, assays, structural data and remote sensing information.
Zimbabwe Mining Reforms Include Tax Incentives and Investment Measures
The Zimbabwe mining reforms retain existing tax incentives that allow prospecting expenditure, including geological surveys, to be deducted under the Income Tax Act, while qualifying exploration and development costs can be carried forward against future mining income.
The minister said qualifying mining capital equipment can also benefit from customs duty rebates and VAT deferment, while the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency facilitates investment into the mining sector.
He added that the government is studying additional measures, including competitive co-funding for drilling and geophysical surveys, a dedicated exploration incentive for junior mining companies, and project preparation facilities covering metallurgy, geotechnical work and environmental studies.
According to the minister, any future government support would be milestone-based, independently audited and require verified exploration data to be submitted to the National Archive.
Zimbabwe Mining Reforms Support Responsible Exploration and Value Addition
The Zimbabwe mining reforms also seek to strengthen work obligations attached to mining rights to discourage speculative title holding while providing security for companies actively undertaking exploration.
The minister said Zimbabwe remains open to responsible foreign investment in exploration, mineral processing, laboratories, power, water infrastructure and logistics.
He added that the reservation of small-scale gold mining operations of up to 20 claims for Zimbabwean citizens is intended to allocate small-scale mining to local participants while allowing domestic and international investors to participate in large-scale mining projects.
The minister also linked exploration with domestic mineral processing, citing Zimbabwe’s lithium policy, which restricts raw ore exports and requires the transition to concentrate production and lithium salts by January 2027.
He said the government has drawn lessons from public geoscience programmes in South Africa, policy stability in Botswana, capital recovery measures in Zambia and permitting systems in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal.
The minister said Zimbabwe’s geology includes the 550-kilometre Great Dyke, which hosts platinum and chromite deposits, as well as gold-bearing greenstone belts and pegmatites containing lithium, tantalum and tin, adding that the country aims to increase exploration activity, attract responsible investment and connect new discoveries to domestic value addition.