HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe produced 4.03 tonnes of gold in the first half of the year and is on course to double last year's output despite regular disruptions to electricity supplies, the country's mining chamber said on Tuesday.
Gold production plunged to a record low of 3 tonnes in 2008, as mines choked from inflation of 500 billion percent as well as acute foreign currency and electricity shortages. Last year saw a marginal improvement to 4.9 tonnes.
A power-sharing government set up by bitter rivals President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai last year dumped a worthless local currency for multiple foreign currencies, taming hyperinflation and stabilising the economy.
Most mothballed mines have come back into production and the chamber of mines says gold output for 2010 could be higher than the initially projected 7 tonnes.
It did not provide figures for first-half output in 2009.
"The country produced 4.03 tonnes between January and June. Based on six months' production, current projection for the year is 8.047 tonnes," the chamber said in a statement.
At its peak, Zimbabwe produced 27 tonnes of gold in 1999.
The mining chamber has set a production target of 20 tonnes over the next five years, but says this could be held back by frequent power cuts and the government's empowerment laws which seek to transfer control of foreign-owned firms to local blacks.
© Thomson Reuters
