By Staff Reporter
HARARE — The Mutapa Investment Fund (MIF), Zimbabwe’s sovereign wealth fund now overseeing all state-owned enterprises, has announced a sweeping restructuring of its mining portfolio, starting with the establishment of a standalone gold business to anchor a new commodity-focused operating model.
MIF chief investment officer Simbarashe Chinyemba told journalists at a briefing hosted by Kuvimba Mining House (KMH) in Harare on Thursday that the overhaul marks “a strategic shift for the Mutapa Investment Fund” as the entity abandons its previous multi-layered holding structure in favour of separate companies for each mineral group.
“We are unveiling a comprehensive restructuring that transitions us from a broad holding model to specialised mineral companies,” he said.
Under the new model, assets will be grouped into companies covering gold, platinum group metals, energy minerals including lithium and nickel, and base metals.
The restructuring creates five mining units, effectively breaking up KMH.
These include Mutapa Gold Resources under Trevor Barnard, Mutapa Base Metals under Godwin Gambiza, Mutapa Energy Minerals under Innocent Rukweza, Mutapa Platinum Group under Munashe Shava, and Mutapa Frontier, which will focus on new acquisitions.
Chinyemba described the previous system, in which assets were held through entities such as KMH alongside various minority shareholdings, as “a spiderweb” that undermined operational efficiency.
“We are rationalising this structure to create a more streamlined and efficient ownership model.
“What we are doing is neither unique nor experimental; it reflects how the world’s leading mining houses organise themselves,” he said.
He said internal assessments had highlighted the risks of remaining a diversified conglomerate.
“The global data to us is very clear. Diversified conglomerates often suffer from a conglomerate discount where value is lost due to diluted focus,” he added.
Moving to mineral-specific companies, Chinyemba added, would strip out administrative layers and ensure technical expertise was focused on the distinct fundamentals of each mineral.
“This is the direction the industry is pursuing to sharpen focus and improve returns,” he said.
KMH chief executive Trevor Barnard confirmed that the gold business would be the first unit to be operationalised under the new structure.
“It’s now about absolute operational focus and efficiencies, and also to be able to access funding,” Barnard said.
He said separating gold from other minerals would immediately enhance the portfolio’s appeal to financiers.
“Some of the other minerals would dilute the value in the bigger groups.
“When you have a gold company sitting on its own, people are much more willing to invest specifically in a gold company,” he said.
Mutapa Investment Fund chief investment officer Simbarashe Chinyemba (second from left) with the new heads of the sovereign fund’s mineral-specific divisions during a news conference in Harare on February 5, 2026
Barnard also unveiled an aggressive expansion plan centred on the Shamva project.
“We envisage establishing a large open-cast mine at Shamva… close to 2.5 million tonnes of throughput per annum, which would yield in the region of about 80,000 ounces of gold per annum,” he said.
A second operation, Jena Mine, is expected to follow a similar development trajectory, with planning already under way.
“In general, our plan is to double our production in the next three to four years on the gold side, and then once we do that, the opportunities are there to build it even further,” Barnard said.
As part of the wider restructuring, Barnard also named leaders for the emerging units, introducing Godwin Gambiza as head of the bulk metals business.
“Godwin will specifically look after the bulk metals side of the business, currently incorporating Zim Alloys,” he said.
MIF officials said the restructuring remains subject to regulatory approval, but stressed that its strategic direction is now firmly established.
“Clarity of purpose is our most important tool.
“This structure ensures our mining portfolio remains a resilient and efficient engine for Zimbabwe’s economic development,” Chinyemba said.
