Gold mine can't pay electric bill, shuts down

from the Zimbabwe Mail

Harare - A Zimbabwean gold mine was this week forced to shut down after failing to settle an electricity bill with the country's state power company, threatening the jobs of 600 workers, an industry official said on Friday...

Gold accounts for a third of export earnings in Zimbabwe's battered economy, but the industry has been hampered by frequent power cuts, shortages of foreign currency and workers and delays in payment by the central bank.

Golden Valley, a medium-sized mine located in Kadoma, 150km west of the capital Harare, closed this week after failing to settle its debt with state-owned electricity firm ZESA Holdings, an official with the Chamber of Mines said.