By Agencies

ZIMBABWE’S state-owned Mutapa Gold Resources plans to double annual production to 220,000 ounces by 2029, backed by funding secured for expansion projects at two of its mines, said Reuters on Friday.

Mutapa, Zimbabwe’s largest gold producer and a subsidiary of the country’s sovereign wealth fund, produced 104,626 oz in the financial year to March 2025, a 10% decline on the prior year due to lower ore grades, the newswire said.

The company has secured $75m from Zimbabwean banks, representing half the funding needed for its Shamva Hill open pit project roughly 100km north-west of Harare.

Work is due to begin in August, with foreign lenders being approached for the balance. The project is expected to lift Shamva’s output from around 24,000 oz to nearly 80,000 oz annually.

Additional production growth will come from a capacity expansion at the Jena mine, where work is expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2026, improved performance at Freda Rebecca, and the incorporation of output from artisanal miners, said Reuters.

Zimbabwe is targeting 50 tons of gold production this year, up from a record 46.7t in 2025. Gold is the country’s top foreign currency earner, with export revenues reaching $1.19bn in the first quarter of 2026 compared with $579m in the same period a year earlier.