To ensure long-term viability, the President said innovation has a critical role in the mining sector and should be scaled up. He was speaking during the official opening of the 27th edition of the Mine Entra in Bulawayo on Thursday.

” The innovation and technology Nexus should result in not only improved inefficiencies, reduced costs and adherence to the concerns of communities and regulatory authorities but the accelerated Industrialisation and modernisation of our country, ” he said.

“This is more so, given that we are currently living in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution where the world is changing faster than before, characterised by new groundbreaking technologies which are pushing the boundaries of the way we live.”

President Mnangagwa said the Government expects spin-offs from mining into other sectors such as manufacturing, construction and agriculture among others, which will in turn promote rapid industrialisation of the country”

He said localised value chains must stimulate long-term economic growth, diversification and regional development through value-added processing and manufacturing

“Bold decisions must be taken within the sector for requisite transformative upward and downstream linkages to speed up the expansion of mineral beneficiation and value addition,” he said

In this regard, said the President, mining houses should strengthen synergies with suppliers, and inclusive institutions of higher learning for the development of technological solutions, methods and techniques in mining projects and operations.

“This will allow for symbiotic relationships within mining suppliers who have intensive local knowledge and are capable of providing customised solutions for mining entities,” said President Mnangagwa.

He said new frontiers such as electro-mobility, invisible zero waste mining and continuous mining among others should equally be prioritised.

“The employment of AI in research and development with regards to engineering design, quantification of mineral deposits, smart mining and market forecasting is also encouraged,” he said

The exhibition running under the theme “Unearthing Success: The Mining Value Chains, Innovation and Industrialisation Nexus.” has seen an increase in the number of direct exhibitors from 204 last year to 255 this year. Mine Entra 2024 also has a stronger International presence, as 19 International exhibitors have signed up, representing four foreign nations China, the DRC, India and South Africa.