Register a mining claim

What you'll usually need

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• A prospecting licence
• Copies of your prospecting notice and registration notice. For base minerals such as chrome or lithium, also a copy of your discovery notice
• A plan of the block in three copies, based on an official map at a scale of 1:25 000 or larger. It must show the pegs, the discovery ("DP") peg and where the prospecting notice was posted
• A signed statement that the copies of your notices are true and correct
• The landowner's written consent, if the ground needs it
• The written appointment or power of attorney, if someone else pegged the block for you
• The registration fee

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Steps

1. Get a prospecting licence. Take one out at a provincial mining office. You must be a permanent resident of Zimbabwe and at least 18. It lasts two years and can't be sold.
2. Use an approved prospector if you aren't one. Only a registered approved prospector can prospect and peg. If you aren't one, appoint one in writing to act for you.
3. Tell the landowner first. Before you prospect, give written notice to the landowner or occupier. For communal land, notify the rural district council. For town land, notify the town council.
4. Post a prospecting notice. Put it on a peg where people can see it. Send a certified copy, with a plan on a 1:25 000 map, to the mining office and the landowner. The notice gives you sole prospecting rights within 300 metres for 31 days.
5. Mark your find and peg the block. Mark the discovery point with a peg marked "DP". Within 31 days of the prospecting notice, peg the block and post a registration notice next to the DP peg. You may only peg between 6am and 6pm.
6. Apply to register within 31 days. Take your documents to the provincial mining office within 31 days of posting the registration notice, and pay the fee.
7. Collect your certificate of registration. If your application is approved, you get a certificate of registration and a copy of your plan marked with the block's registered number.
8. Get your inspection certificates on time. Get the first within 6 months of registration and the second within 12 months. After that, get one every 12 months. Each time, you declare the work done on the claim and pay the fee.
9. Act within 21 days if your claim is listed for forfeiture. Lists of forfeited claims are posted outside the mining office. Apply to cancel the forfeiture within 21 days, and get the missing inspection certificate in that time.

Good to know

• The law is the Mines and Minerals Act [Chapter 21:05]. Older wording calls the official a "mining commissioner". The Ministry now runs this through provincial mining offices. A new Mines and Minerals Bill (H.B. 1, 2025) was still before Parliament in August 2026, so the current Act still applies.
• The Ministry says it has 8 provincial centres where you can apply. To find your provincial office, call the Ministry's head office on Call 0242 777022. Its lines are 777022 to 777024.
• Since 22 May 2026, small and medium-scale gold mining is reserved for Zimbabwean citizens and fully citizen-owned companies. Small and medium-scale means up to 20 kg of gold a month, or up to US$15 million invested. If you already operate in this sector, you must re-register with the Ministry by 1 January 2027.
• From 1 July 2025, a registered mine surveyor must capture the co-ordinates of new and renewed claims. Your provincial mining office has the list of registered surveyors. The Ministry has said this does not mean you must re-peg.
• The Ministry is moving its records to a computerised mining cadastre, and aims to have it fully working by the end of 2026. For now, apply in person.
• You can't prospect on some ground without the owner's written consent. This includes land within 450 metres of a homestead, fields under cultivation, and land within 90 metres of a dip tank or other valuable building.
• Mining is a prescribed project under the Environmental Management Act. So before you start mining, you also need an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) certificate from the Environmental Management Agency (EMA).
• Ask the provincial mining office for the current fees for licences, registration and inspection certificates. Get a receipt when you pay.