Zimbabwe’s gold sector entered a new investment cycle as both public and private mining companies accelerate spending to expand production and extend the life of existing mines.
State-backed mining company Mutapa Gold Resources announced that it plans to invest US$12 million in 2026 in exploration work across its gold assets in the country.
The move forms part of a broader growth strategy that adds to investments already under way by private mining companies such as Caledonia Mining and Ariana Resources.
Mutapa Gold Resources operates as the mining arm of Zimbabwe’s sovereign wealth fund, Mutapa Investment Fund. The company controls three gold mines in the country: Freda Rebecca, Jena and Shamva.
According to the company, the planned investment will finance drilling programs at each site with the goal of extending the operating life of the mines by about 10 years.
At the same time, Mutapa Gold said it is working to secure about US$250 million in financing to support expansion plans aimed at increasing production capacity across the three operations.
The announcement came only days after British mining company Ariana Resources launched a A$1 million metallurgical testing program at the Dokwe gold project.
The work is intended to support a definitive feasibility study for Dokwe, which is considered one of Zimbabwe’s future large-scale industrial gold mines alongside the Bilboes project being developed by Caledonia Mining.
At Bilboes, construction work has already started. Caledonia announced plans to invest US$132 million in the project this year alone.
Zimbabwe strengthens a strategic gold industry
The momentum behind these projects comes as gold prices surged more than 60% in 2025, encouraging mining companies across Africa to accelerate investment in new developments.
Zimbabwe has increasingly positioned itself within that trend as the country tries to strengthen a gold industry that remains heavily dominated by artisanal mining. About 65% of Zimbabwe’s gold production still comes from small-scale and artisanal miners.
Only a limited number of industrial mines currently operate in the country, including those controlled by Mutapa Gold Resources, Caledonia Mining’s Blanket mine and Namib Minerals’ How mine. Namib Minerals is also preparing restart plans for its Redwing and Mazowe operations.
Zimbabwe’s gold output reached a record 46.7 tons in 2025, up 17% from 2024. The new mining projects could significantly increase production over the coming years. Bilboes alone is expected to add about 200,000 ounces of annual gold production – roughly 6.22 tons – once the mine reaches full production in 2029. The expansion of industrial mining could become increasingly important for Zimbabwe’s economy.
Gold remains the country’s largest export product and plays a central role in supporting the local ZIG currency through the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s strategy of building gold reserves.
Financing still remains a key challenge
Despite the strong momentum in the sector, the success of many of the announced projects will still depend on whether companies can secure the financing needed to move developments forward.
In Mutapa Gold’s case, negotiations are still under way to finalize the financial structure needed to raise the funds required for mine expansion. At the same time, Zimbabwe’s artisanal mining industry is also trying to formalize operations.
The Zimbabwe Miners Federation recently presented a roadmap designed to better regulate small-scale mining activities and channel a larger share of gold production into official trading systems.
Authorities and industry players see those reforms as another important step toward strengthening oversight of the sector while increasing official gold flows into the national economy.
