By: OrePulse

Zimbabwe delivered 35.88 tonnes of gold to the state-run Fidelity Gold Refinery in the nine months to the end of September 2026, putting the country within reach of a new annual record, according to figures from the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development released this month.

The total left the country needing 14.12 tonnes more to hit its 50-tonne target for the year. To close that gap, deliveries would need to average 4.71 tonnes a month from October through December, compared with an average of 3.99 tonnes for the year so far, according to government data. September's figure alone came in at 4.72 tonnes, a pace officials said indicated the target was likely to be surpassed, not just met.

Output climbed steadily through the year, rising from 9.31 tonnes in the first quarter to 12.09 tonnes in the second and 14.48 tonnes in the third, according to the ministry's figures. That acceleration underpinned government optimism that 2026 would mark a new high for formal gold deliveries, a closely watched gauge of activity in a sector that remains one of Zimbabwe's largest sources of foreign currency.

The 25.78 tonnes attributed to artisanal and small-scale operations worked out to about 72 percent of this year's total, underscoring their growing weight in the formal gold supply chain relative to larger commercial producers. Their contribution has been a recurring theme in the sector's recent expansion, as more small-scale producers channel output through official buyers rather than informal markets.

Mines Minister Polite Kambamura described the performance as "another record-breaking year for gold deliveries." He attributed the gains to the government's fiscal and monetary reforms, though he did not specify which measures were responsible, and his assessment reflected the government's own view of the sector's progress rather than an independent audit of the figures.

Rains typically slow small-scale mining activity in the fourth quarter, but officials said this year's rains had arrived later than usual, which was expected to soften the usual seasonal dip in output. Even a more conservative pace of about four tonnes a month for the rest of the year would push the full-year total past last year's mark, to roughly 47.8 tonnes versus the prior record of 46.7 tonnes, according to the ministry's projections.

"We are confident as a ministry of achieving the set gold production targets come the end of this year," Kambamura said.

The ministry's figures did not break down how much of the artisanal and small-scale total came from formally registered cooperatives versus individual producers, nor did they detail the specific fiscal or monetary policies Kambamura credited with the improved deliveries.

Should deliveries hold at or above the pace needed in the final quarter, Zimbabwe would both break its previous annual record and move closer to the 50-tonne mark for the first time, according to the government's projections. Final figures for the year will not be confirmed until deliveries through December are tallied.