ZIMBABWE’S mines offloaded approximately 4 300 jobs in 2025, even as it delivered one of its strongest performances on record, according to the Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe (CoMZ).
It could be one of the worst job market crashes for a single sector in an economy battling over 90% unemployment.
The CoMZ’s annual report showed employment in the industry fell to 51 022 as of December 31, 2025, from 54 600 in 2024.
Based on CoMZ figures, the sector lost more than 3 500 jobs compared to the previous year, despite generating mineral exports worth US$7,3 billion.
The job market carnage exposes widening gaps between mining’s higher contribution to the economy and its capacity to create employment.
“There was a decrease in the number of people employed within the mining industry due to retrenchments by various mines,” the CoMZ said.
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The bloodbath emerged as concern mounted over job security in Zimbabwe’s formal economy, where companies offloaded more than 65 000 workers in the second quarter, according to the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency.
Labour unions say the mining industry is among the sectors hardest hit.
Justice Chinhema, secretary-general of the Zimbabwe Diamond and Allied Minerals Workers Union, recently told the Zimbabwe Independent that the industry had entered a “dangerous” phase of accelerated job losses.
“We are deeply alarmed that the mining sector has entered a phase of accelerated job shedding, with the heaviest impact being felt in diamond and lithium operations,” Chinhema said.
“Available industry figures indicate that the formal mining industry recorded over 1 000 retrenchments in 2024, compared to just a few hundred in 2023, which also increased in 2025, a clear sign that the crisis is man-made and accelerating under the current policy and regulatory environment.”
He said some diamond firms had embarked on large-scale contract terminations.
In some companies, workers had gone for more than six months without salaries.
Chinhema blamed the crisis on a combination of falling diamond prices, weak labour protection, high electricity costs and policy inconsistency.
“Global price fluctuations may be the spark, but it is weak enforcement that has turned a price downturn into a full-blown jobs catastrophe,” he said.
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions president Florence Mucha Taruvinga said organised labour was worried about developments in the sector.
“We are concerned as a trade union about the current state of affairs,” Taruvinga told the Independent in another interview.
The crisis barrelled against a backdrop of record mineral exports, which surged 24% to US$7,3 billion in 2025 from US$5,9 billion in 2024, accounting for 75% of Zimbabwe’s total export earnings.
Gold exports jumped 72% to US$4,3 billion from US$2,5 billion, driven by record production and firm international prices.
Gold output increased by 31% to 50 514 kilogrammes, while coal production grew 26% to 7,28 million tonnes. Average capacity utilisation improved to 88% from 84% in 2024 and is expected to rise to 95% this year.
Yet while production and export earnings expanded, employment moved in the opposite direction.
The CoMZ attributed the retrenchments to a difficult operating environment characterised by rising production costs, foreign currency shortages, power supply challenges and limited access to capital.
“The operating environment for the mining industry was predominantly challenging on the back of high costs of production, fragile power supply …,” the report said.
The findings raise fresh questions about the nature of Zimbabwe’s mining-led growth model. Mining remains one of the country’s most strategic industries, contributing about 14,5% to gross domestic product.
The sector is also Zimbabwe’s largest source of foreign currency.
However, the latest figures suggest that robust export growth is not automatically translating into employment creation.
Evidence of the strain facing mining companies is reflected elsewhere in the report.
The National Employment Council for the Mining Industry approved 37 applications for exemption from paying prescribed minimum wages during the year, while its technical sub-committee spent much of 2025 dealing with retrenchments, wage exemption requests and measures aimed at preserving jobs.
“The committee also deliberated on matters relating to retrenchments and job evaluation. Attention was given to the prevailing economic challenges faced by the industry and the imperative to preserve and create jobs,” the CoMZ said.
More than 90% of exemption applications considered by the technical sub-committee reflected agreements reached between employers and workers at company level.
The job losses come as the mining industry prepares for another year of growth.
The chamber projects mineral output to grow by a weighted average of 7% in 2026, supported by expansion projects, new investments and higher production across several minerals.