Henrietta Rushwaya has been re-elected president of the Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF), securing a new seven-year mandate that will extend her leadership of the country’s artisanal and small-scale mining sector until 2033.
The decision was approved by the ZMF General Council this Friday following an endorsement process that reportedly received overwhelming support from eight of Zimbabwe’s ten provinces, reinforcing Rushwaya’s grip on one of the country’s most influential mining organisations.
ZMF leadership justified the mandate extension as necessary to preserve institutional stability and policy continuity within the federation.
The council argued that the extended term would allow the current executive to complete ongoing formalisation programmes, strengthen strategic partnerships, and consolidate gains made within the small-scale mining sector, which contributes significantly to Zimbabwe’s gold production.
The move effectively removes the prospect of an immediate leadership contest, ensuring continuity within the federation’s top structures at a time when the government is seeking to increase mineral output and formalise artisanal mining operations.
Her re-election and the extension of her tenure underscore the influence she continues to wield across the federation’s provincial leadership and within Zimbabwe’s small-scale mining sector.
The latest endorsement cements her position as one of the country’s longest-serving mining sector leaders and ensures she will remain at the helm of the federation for the foreseeable future.
Since her election as president of the Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) in 2018, Henrietta Rushwaya has played a prominent role in Zimbabwe’s artisanal and small-scale mining sector, which contributes an average of 60% of the country’s annual gold deliveries to Fidelity Gold Refinery.
She became one of only five women globally to lead a major mining organisation and has been credited with promoting greater participation of women in mining.
Re-elected unopposed in 2021, Rushwaya pledged to align the artisanal and small-scale mining sector with the mainstream economy.
In 2026, she announced a target of 45 tonnes of gold deliveries by small-scale miners. 
