Fidelity Printers and Refiners (FPR) has created a new gold trading framework for 70% payment in foreign currency.
Gold producers in Zimbabwe have been keeping 55% of sales proceeds in foreign currency and the remainder on the official currency market rate.
Critics have blamed the earlier deal for the reduced sales at FDR as gold dealers prefer the black market.
Payment of gold in local currency has also been condemned in gold leakages out of Zimbabwe through the black market.
FDR General Manager Fradreck Kunaka said, “Gold producers shall be paid under a 70/30 payment arrangement scheme in terms of which 70% of the gold sale proceeds shall be paid into the producer’s Nostro account and the balance of 30% shall be paid in local currency at the ruling exchange rate into the producer’s ZW$ account.”
“Small scale gold buying agents and artisanal producers shall be paid in cash at a flat price of forty-five United States dollars [USD45.00] per gram of fine gold.”
The new framework also created new requirements for buying agents.
“Large gold buying agents must have a mining operation producing a minimum of fifty (50) kilograms fine gold per month to qualify for Fidelity Printers and Refiners (FPR) agency permit,” Kunaka said.
“Small scale gold buying agents will have to enter into an Agency Agreement with FPR, which contracts shall clearly spell out the terms and conditions under which the agents shall operate.”
“FPR and the National Gold Monitoring Teams are enhancing surveillance to ensure that all gold is sold through FPR in line with the country’s regulations,” Kunaka went on.
Last year, gold deliveries at FPR went down to after the introduction of Statutory Instrument 142 of 2019 which barred the use of the multi-currency regime and made the Zimbabwean dollar the sole legal tender.
The country’s annual gold output dropped 16.8% to 27.6 tonnes in 2019, from 33.2 tonnes produced in 2018 according to statistics.