Zimbabwe's gold output declines in Q1
Xinhua
04 Jun 2021, 03:30 GMT+10
HARARE, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe's gold production declined to 4,311 kg during the first quarter of this year, compared to 6,152 kg produced in the same period last year.
The output was also lower than 4,794 kg produced in the fourth quarter of last year, according to a 2021 first quarter treasury bulletin released Thursday.
"The decline was mainly on account of a fall in production from the artisanal and small-scale gold sector," said the quarterly report released by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development.
Of the 4,311 kg, large-scale producers delivered about 2,291 kg, 11.2 percent higher than what was produced during the same period in 2020, while artisanal and the small-scale gold sector delivered 1,586 kg, about 55.6 percent below the production of the same period in 2020, reflecting leakages through smuggling, the report said.