THE Women in Mining Association is courting investors for assistance in exploiting diamonds at its 15,000 hectares diamond claim in Chiadzwa in a move aimed at increasing output and earnings for women players.
The organisation’s chairperson, Anakileta Gumba, said women in mining had joined hands with the Zimbabwe Mining Agricultural Residential and Tourism Trust (ZiMARTT) to engage local and foreign investors in capacity building towards improved production.
“We’re serious with diamond mining but we tried it after getting claims in 2010 and failed because of capacity constraints. “We’ve got a claim of 15,000 hectares and we’re working with the Zimbabwe Mining Development Council (ZMDC) and our partners, ZiMARTT to get an investor joining us,” said Gumba. “We need capitalisation to get mining machinery and necessary resources to enhance efficient production.”
Women in mining are affiliated to ZiMARTT and have a countrywide membership of about 10,000 women. The two organisations joined hands to form Tada-Dia Private Limited, a consortium company to exploit diamonds in Chiadzwa.
Gumba said women in mining also have gold claims across the country and were working on utilising the resources to contribute to economic development.
ZiMARTT Matabeleland regional head Hillario Ngulube said the two organisations were working side by side and urged more women to get involved in mining. “Investors are coming and very soon we will be doing wonderful things in our mining projects. We already have a concession and everything is in place,” said Ngulube, a businessman based in Hwange.
Tada-Dia chief executive officer Davie Mutingwindi said the consortium was in support of government efforts in fostering value addition and beneficiation of minerals as a way of increasing earnings for the country. “We formed Tada-Dia to capacitate women in mining and our operations are successful. We have invited investors to come and inspect our claims,” he said.
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