Zimbabwe is moving to make environmental, social and governance (ESG) compliance a prerequisite for obtaining and extending mining rights as Government intensifies efforts to ensure mineral wealth delivers sustainable economic and community benefits.
Speaking at the inaugural National ESG Conference held at the Rainbow Towers in Harare, Deputy Minister of Mines and Mining Development Hon Dr Polite Kambamura said mining companies would soon be required to demonstrate ESG compliance as part of the licensing process.
“Very soon we will be setting our ESGs to be prerequisites to application mining rights, and your mining rights and extension of the same,” he said.
The announcement signals a significant shift in Zimbabwe’s approach to ESG, moving the concept beyond voluntary corporate reporting towards a regulatory requirement for companies seeking access to the country’s mineral resources.
Dr Kambamura said responsible mining had become increasingly important as international markets, investors and financial institutions placed greater emphasis on traceability, carbon footprints, environmental responsibility and social accountability.
His remarks came against the backdrop of strong mining export performance, with the Minister revealing that the sector generated US$5.7 billion in export revenue during the first half of 2026, representing a 4.7 percent increase compared with the corresponding period last year.
He said the composition of mineral exports, including platinum group metals, copper, lithium, lithium sulphate and chrome, demonstrated progress towards beneficiation, particularly as Zimbabwe moves towards ferro-chrome and finished steel products.
However, Dr Kambamura warned that increased mineral production and beneficiation could not be regarded as genuine economic progress if achieved at the expense of communities and the environment.
“Value chain is not value gained if it is extracted at the expense of our environment,” he said, highlighting the need for responsible management of water, forests, emissions and mined-out land.
He said environmental degradation, abandoned pits, damaged agricultural land and mining activities that bypass surrounding communities represented a long-term liability for the country.
“…a rehabilitated pit that injures the mine, or bypassing the village where the mine gate is not a national achievement. It is a national debt that falls due on our children,” he said.
The Deputy Minister said Zimbabwe’s mineral exports would increasingly be assessed against international ESG expectations, noting that the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism had become fully operational in January 2026, while sustainability and traceability requirements were also gaining prominence in critical mineral and battery supply chains.
He added that Zimbabwean minerals destined for international markets would increasingly be assessed not only for grade and purity, but also for their carbon footprint, responsible water use and social licence.
“Here’s the change, not a text from operations, the price of the ticket into the markets we are already trying to enter,” he said.
Dr Kambamura said the relationship between mining and agriculture made ESG particularly important because the two sectors often share land, water resources, infrastructure and rural communities.
Mining companies, he said, should therefore contribute to local development through areas such as irrigation, livestock development, schools, infrastructure and enterprise development, while agriculture must equally ensure that its expansion does not compromise environmental sustainability.
He said Government was also tightening enforcement against environmental non-compliance and would require environmental rehabilitation obligations to be addressed.
The mining cadastral system, he added, was expected to improve integrity in the administration of mining rights, while outstanding applications would be regularized.
Dr Kambamura acknowledged that Zimbabwe already had legislation governing several aspects of environmental and mining activities, but said enforcement remained a major challenge.
“We do have some legislation, but the issue is enforcing those laws,” he said.
He called for implementable ESG frameworks, mandatory transparency from mining companies, meaningful remediation and environmental accounting that reflects the real costs of mining activities.
His remarks echoed the broader message of the conference, which is being organized around the theme “ESG Practices in Zimbabwe: An Evidence-Driven Approach.”
The conference is seeking to shift the ESG conversation from corporate promises and reporting towards measurable outcomes, including environmental protection, employment creation, community development and economic value.
Dr Kambamura commended the Zimbabwe Agricultural Society and the conference organisers for adopting an evidence-driven approach, saying ESG reporting should answer fundamental questions about what has changed, who has benefited and what impact has been created.
As Zimbabwe seeks to expand mineral beneficiation and attract investment, the Government’s emerging position is that access to mineral resources must increasingly be matched by demonstrable environmental responsibility, social accountability and sound governance.
