Harare: Zimbabwe’s gold output reached a new record high of 35.38 tonne in 2022, spurred by new mining projects, timely payments, and incentives to miners.

The output was 19.5 percent up from the previous year’s output, the state-owned Herald newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing statistics from the country’s sole gold buyer, Fidelity Gold Refineries.

“The incentives are really paying off to such an extent that the viability of the sector hinges on sustaining the incentives to unlock more value,” Fidelity Gold Refineries Chief Executive Peter Magaramombe was quoted as saying by the daily newspaper.

In 2022, the Zimbabwean government extended an incentive to large-scale gold miners that exceed their average monthly deliveries by paying them 80 per cent in foreign currency for the additional output, Xinhua news agency reported.

Previously, large-scale gold producers were retaining 70 per cent of their export proceeds in foreign currency.

In addition, the government stipulated that large-scale gold producers that qualify for the 80 per cent retention threshold would be entitled to directly export the additional gold to enable them to secure funding and gold loans to enhance production.

Gold is one of Zimbabwe’s major foreign currency earners alongside tobacco leaf and platinum.