Minister of Finance and Economic Development has warned foreign nationals involved in gold panning that they should stop as the sector is reserved for locals only. He warned that the government was going to launch a crackdown on the sector. The Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) said most foreign gold panners were from neighbouring countries. Chinamasa also said that people from other continents were panning for gold, in an apparent reference to the Chinese. Said Chinamasa:
There is a presence of foreigners in gold panning.
That sector is for indigenous people. For foreigners, the sooner they leave the sector the better. Someone cannot come from another continent and pan gold here
Chinamasa said the foreigners must concentrate on formal mining.
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