Women miners are not rejecting cleaner gold processing technologies. They are responding to economic realities, according to planetGOLD Zimbabwe Manager Nyaradzo Mutonhori.
“If mercury gives immediate cash today while a mercury-free plant requires capital, electricity, technical knowledge and processing time, many women will choose mercury—not because they prefer it—but because it is the only available business model,” she said.
Speaking on the transition to mercury-free mining during a Zimbabwe Artisanal and Small-Scale Women Miners Association workshop, Mutonhori said the conversation must shift from technical adoption to enterprise transformation.
“We do not measure success only by the number of mercury-free technologies installed,” she said. “We look at whether those technologies improve profitability, increase women’s control over mining income, reduce financing risk, and enable women miners to participate in formal responsible gold markets. That is what creates lasting change.”
planetGOLD Zimbabwe is calling for women to move beyond being technology users and instead become equipment owners, processing entrepreneurs, and technology service providers.
“Imagine women operating centralised processing centres serving multiple miners. That changes power dynamics inside the value chain,” Mutonhori said. “The transition to mercury-free mining presents an opportunity to increase women’s economic participation across the entire value chain.”
Practical steps for women miners, Mutonhori said, include joining registered mining groups or cooperatives, keeping production and financial records, and working collectively to share equipment costs.
“Financial institutions are increasingly interested in understanding a miner’s production history, not just traditional collateral. Good records demonstrate that a mining enterprise is viable,” she said.
Mutonhori said planetGOLD Zimbabwe was working with government, financial institutions, and the private sector to build financing models that reflect mining cash flows.
“The question should not be whether ASGM is financeable. The question is how we design financing products that reflect the realities of mining while rewarding responsible production,” she said.
“Mercury-free technology is not simply replacing one piece of equipment with another—it is strengthening your business, protecting your health and positioning yourself for future markets.”
