Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines Investments Holdings (ZCCM-IH) says it is currently offering a very competitive price for buying gold in the country at K1,150 per gram (about K1.2m for 1kg of gold), which is in line with global gold prices.

ZCCM-IH public relations manager Loisa Mbatha-Kakoma told the Zambian Business Times – ZBT that ZCCM-IH’s pricing has been competitive considering its presence in the market since it started and has raised the prices from the previous prices of about K250 per gram to have more market reflective pricing.

“Our pricing has actually been competitive considering our presence in the market since we started; we raised the prices from the previous unofficial exploitative ones of K250 per gram to have more market reflective pricing. We reached as high as K1,150 per gram from December 2020 to early this year,” she said.

Meanwhile, the price of gold being offered on the black market or by private buyers is currently K1,100 per gram.

Mbatha-Kakoma said in addition, ZCCM-IH does not charge any tax when buying the gold as it pays the tax on behalf of the artisanal small-scale miners.

“We do not charge any tax when buying the gold, as a matter of fact; we actually pay the tax on their behalf. Therefore, our pricing still remains competitive on the market and reflective of the global prices,” she reiterated.

Mbatha-Kakoma said the buying programme of gold is ongoing, and that ZCCM-IH has continued undertaking stakeholder awareness and engagement on the program. She said further, the company has so far set up gold-buying centres in strategic panning areas such as Lumezi, Vubwi and Rufunsa districts.

She also disclosed that from June 2020 to March 2021, the Zambia Gold Company, which is part of ZCCM-IH, has produced cumulative of 91 kilograms (KGs) of gold. Mbatha-Kakoma said that monthly production of gold varies depending on the availability of ore material.

She said in terms of formalizing artisanal small scale miners, ZCCM-IH’s role is working with licensed artisanal miners. Mbatha-Kakoma said so far, it was working with registered and licensed cooperatives in Rufunsa, Vubwi and Lumezi.

In March 2020, ZCCM-IH started buying gold from artisanal and small-scale miners in the country. However, some artisanal gold miners had complained to ZBT stating that the black market prices were more attractive, leading to most Gold not being mopped up by the formal market.

Source: https://zambianbusinesstimes.com/local-gold-prices-now-very-attractive-zccm-ih/