The Covid-19 pandemic could derail the Zimbabwe Government’s plan to expand the value of its mining industry to $12bn by 2023, according to environmental group the Centre for Natural Resources Governance (CNRG).
Mineral exports were responsible for close to two-thirds of the country’s export earnings as recently as October 2018, and the country’s mining industry is expected to play a key role in any long-term growth in the Zimbabwean economy. Diamonds in particular are among the country’s most valuable commodities, and the CNRG expects revenues of around $1bn from the sale of diamonds by 2023. This is a far cry from the $12bn price tag expected by the government however, which is targeting an increase in annual diamond production to ten million carats by 2023.
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Read more about the impacts of the pandemic on the Zimbabwean mining industry here.
