HARARE: Zimbabwe’s gold output rose by 55.5 percent to 29.6 tonnes in 2021, buoyed by the gold incentive scheme introduced by the government last year, according to a statement published by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Thursday. Large-scale gold producers delivered 11.2 tonnes to Fidelity Gold Refinery (FGR) while small-scale producers contributed 18.5 tonnes. The central bank said the incentive scheme had a significant positive impact on gold deliveries to FGR. “It is projected that the quantum of the country’s gold exports in 2021 will increase beyond the 29.6 tonnes when the gold component in the Platinum Group Metals is eventually included in the tally of gold deliveries to FGR,” central bank governor John Mangudya said. Gold is a key foreign currency earner for Zimbabwe, accounting for over 70 percent of the nation’s annual foreign currency inflows. The country produced 19 tonnes of gold in 2020, down from 27.6 tonnes in 2019 and 33.2 tonnes in 2018.