Gold mine forced to close in Zimbabwe

An unnamed industry official has confirmed that a mid-range gold mine in Zimbabwe was forced to close last week as it failed to clear an electricity bill with the country's state power provider.

Golden Valley, located 88 miles west of the capital Harare, was forced into shutdown after refusing to pay off money owned to ZESA Holdings, meaning 600 jobs are now at risk.

According to Reuters, the company is blaming the situation on central bank subsidiary Fidelity - the country's only gold purchaser and refiner - by claiming that it still owes them money for gold sales.

The Chamber of Mines official told the news provider: "We have serious issues affecting miners and the Golden Valley issue is only but one of several problems the industry is facing."

The news is a further concern to the gold mining industry in Zimbabwe, with the yellow metal representing around a third of all the country's export earnings.

However, if the situation persists and continues to be replicated elsewhere in the country, it may provide an opportunity for investing in gold as output would be even more severely compromised.

It was confirmed recently that Zimbabwe's gold output fell by 44 per cent in the first seven months of the year.

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