Zimbabwe's first-quarter gold deliveries rise 8% to 9.3 tonnes

Zimbabwe's gold deliveries to Fidelity Gold Refinery totalled 9,311.92 kilograms in the first quarter of 2026, an increase of 8.29% on the 8,599.10 kilograms delivered in the first three months of 2025, according to figures reported by Mining Zimbabwe on 7 May.

Monthly volumes were uneven. January deliveries came to 3,044.97 kilograms and February rose to 3,412.95 kilograms, a strong advance on the 2,596.11 kilograms recorded in February 2025. March then eased back to 2,854.00 kilograms.

Two very different producer groups

The quarter again underlined how dependent Zimbabwe is on its small-scale sector. Small-scale producers delivered 6,510.91 kilograms, or almost exactly 70% of the total, while primary producers, the large-scale mines, supplied 2,801.01 kilograms.

The two groups also behaved differently through the quarter. Small-scale deliveries peaked in February and cooled noticeably by March, when they fell to 1,748.70 kilograms. Large mines were steadier: primary producers delivered 1,105.31 kilograms in March, 14% more than in March 2025.

On a combined basis, the quarter's small-scale deliveries averaged about 2.2 tonnes a month, against roughly 0.93 tonnes a month from the primary sector, on our calculation from the reported totals.

That divergence matters for anyone trying to forecast national output. Small-scale production responds quickly to price and cash availability, but it is also exposed to seasonal conditions, equipment shortages and access to finance, which can cause sharp month-to-month swings. Industrial mines are slower to change but more predictable, and projects under development, such as Caledonia Mining's Bilboes, are expected to lift the large-scale share over time.

A foundation for the annual target

Mining Zimbabwe said the cumulative first-quarter volume put the industry in a strong position to meet its annual goals. Fidelity Gold Refinery is the country's sole authorised buyer and exporter of gold, so its intake is the main real-time indicator of production.

The figures also carry macroeconomic weight. Gold is Zimbabwe's biggest foreign currency earner and underpins the gold-backed ZiG currency, so a strong start to the year supports both export receipts and reserve-building at a time of historically high bullion prices.

The market will watch whether April and May deliveries recover from March's dip to keep the year on course.

Sources

• Mining Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe Q1 2026 Gold Performance, 07 May 2026

Photo: View over the town of Kwekwe in Zimbabwe's Midlands. Peter in s, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.