Zimbabwe gold miner RioZim halts production over payment delays (Reuters U.S. – June 16, 2020)

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HARARE, June 16 (Reuters) – Zimbabwe’s biggest gold miner RioZim Ltd said on Tuesday it had stopped production due to delays in payments for deliveries to the country’s sole buyer of bullion, which left the company unable to meet its operational expenditures.

Gold is Zimbabwe’s single largest foreign currency earner, and Fidelity Printers and Refiners, an arm of the central bank, has a monopoly on buying and refining all the country’s output.

However, a shortage of foreign currency in Zimbabwe has led to payment problems in the mining sector.

RioZim said it was owed $2.46 million and 65.48 million Zimbabwe dollars ($2.6 million) by Fidelity for gold deliveries.

That made it difficult to pay for electricity, fuel and a portion of salaries, which are all denominated in U.S. dollars, said RioZim, which owns three gold mines and a diamond mine.

For the rest of this article: https://www.reuters.com/article/zimbabwe-riozim/zimbabwe-gold-miner-riozim-halts-production-over-payment-delays-idUSL8N2DT1GG#:~:text=HARARE%2C%20June%2016%20(Reuters),to%20meet%20its%20operational%20expenditures.