The Zimbabwe Miners' Federation (ZMF) President George Kawonza was quoted as saying the decline in the production of the metal was also due to the police operation "Chikorokoza Chapera," which is presently being implemented to eliminate illegal gold panning activities.

"Production levels have been reduced. We used to produce four tons a month, but we are only producing 600 kg per month at the moment," he said.

Kawonza said the continued increase in the price of fuel on the parallel market and an unrealistic fixed gold price of 16,000 Zimbabwe dollars (64 U.S. dollars) had made operations of the small-scale miners difficult.

Kawonza said operation Chikorokoza Chapera, which had resulted in the closure of most small-scale mining operations, had also impacted on operations.

He said the exercise had discouraged investment from identified partners from Asian countries such as China, India and Pakistan because of the uncertainty it brought and called on the government to re-open small-scale mines.

Mining contributes up to 4.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), 5 percent of employment and 16 percent of total foreign currency earnings.

Figures from the central bank for gold deliveries have shown a gradual decline over the past few years.

In 2005, 13.45 tons were realized while last year only 10.96 tons was netted.

Gold is integral to Zimbabwe's economy as it accounts for more than 72 percent of foreign currency receipts.

Last year, 201 million dollars was realized as compared to 203 million dollars that was recorded the previous year.