ZMF, short for the Zimbabwe Miners Federation, is the largest mining organization in Zimbabwe. It represents over 1.2 million ASM (artisanal and small-scale miners), responsible for producing over 60% of Zimbabwe's gold.
The organization's primary goal is to alleviate poverty in the country by providing training, skills, technology, equipment, and support to ASM miners to turn them into professional medium and large-scale miners in the future.
In 2021, ZMF made significant strides towards achieving its objectives by obtaining a gold buying and selling license. This license has enabled the organization to buy and sell gold produced by its members and non-members, thus shutting out middlemen who have exploited small-scale miners and smuggled gold out of the country for years.
With this initiative, ZMF has been selling its gold to Fidelity Printers, seeking technical partners from overseas and raising capital to mechanize ASM mining in Zimbabwe, with the ultimate goal of helping Zimbabwe reach the $13 billion per year mining target.
Leading this institution is a driven and savvy woman named Henrietta Rushwaya. Under her leadership, ZMF has achieved impressive results, contributing to increasing gold production in Zimbabwe by over 40% since she took control.
In the process, she has created black millionaires out of uneducated villagers, thus empowering millions of Zimbabweans.
However, her efforts have not gone unnoticed, as many view her as a threat because firstly, she is a WOMAN, who aims to create black millionaires in mining and to transform the small-scale mining industry of Zimbabwe into the biggest mining industry in Africa, where resources will be controlled by uneducated black people, at the exclusion of western companies.
Despite this opposition, Henrietta remains committed to her vision and her efforts to empower Zimbabweans through mining.
By Rutendo Bereza Matinyarare, Chairman of ZASM and Founder of Frontline Strat Marketing Consultancy.
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