US$10M GOLD VANISHES INTO THE BLACK MARKET

AT least 120 kilogrammes of gold, worth more than US$10 million, vanished into the black market in less than two years under the watch of a mining syndicate that disguised itself as a legitimate operator in Kwekwe’s Silobela gold belt.

Official production data obtained by Check Point reveals that Podhill (Pvt) Ltd, jointly owned by Chinese national Mr Zuo Wenzhong and Australian businessman Mr Moham Karim, declared less than 4kg of gold for banking in 2024 — while internal production reports show over 3 000kg of ore processed monthly and multiple gold batches smelted off-record.

In December 2024 alone, the mine’s CIP carbon processing line recorded nearly 1 500 grammes of gold per batch, with sale notes showing payments of up to US$16 000 per transaction, mostly handled by a partner identified as Talib.

By contrast, only a token 300 grammes were officially sold under Fidelity Printers and Refiners and the CID Minerals Unit.

The company’s Heap Leaching operations during May and June 2024 brought in over 3 000kg of processed material and generated at least US$117 000 in revenue per smelt run — money that investigators say was never declared to tax authorities or the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.

Further spreadsheets reveal how flotation amalgam sales — small but highly pure batches of gold — were sold privately at US$70 per gramme, well above the official average, through undisclosed buyers linked to foreign markets.

Behind it all stands Mr Zuo Wenzhong, the Chinese businessman at the heart of Generous Resources (Pvt) Ltd, which holds 95 percent of Podhill’s shares.

Alongside Mr Mohamad Taleb, Mr He Huayang and Mr Duan Yuanbin, Mr Zuo allegedly orchestrated a well-oiled smuggling enterprise that moved smelted gold directly from Kwekwe to off-book refiners and overseas buyers, mainly in Dubai and China.

According to an internal criminal dossier seen by Check Point, Mr Zuo instructed his workers to “smelt quietly” and move shipments “without record”.

Transaction ledgers attached to the report show private sales totalling 16 854 grammes between December 2023 and May 2024, and a further 34 kilogrammes by year’s end — nearly all of it diverted from the official pipeline.

By early 2025, Podhill’s illegal operations had outgrown their legitimate cover, with total undeclared sales surpassing 120 kilogrammes of gold, valued conservatively at US$10 million at prevailing market prices.

The syndicate’s elution plant and smelting facilities at Ourstrike Mine were central to the illicit process — industrial-scale equipment used for private gain under national disguise.

Sources within the mining industry say the syndicate exploited regulatory loopholes and weak enforcement to move gold across borders undetected.

Several insiders, speaking on condition of anonymity, described a “ghost refinery” network running on cash deals, private air cargo and discreet couriers linking Zimbabwe’s Midlands Province to foreign buyers in Dubai and China.

Investigators have traced the smuggling network to Generous Resources, Podhill, and Milhub, all interlinked through Mr Zuo’s control of shareholding and managerial appointments.

The report identifies Mr He Huayang (general manager, Podhill) and Mr Duan Yuanbin (director, Podhill) as key operatives, both Chinese nationals.

Together with Mr Taleb and Mr Karim, they managed a corporate web that masked illegal extraction and export under the guise of legitimate mining operations.

Financial records, transaction ledgers and photographic evidence now form the backbone of an investigation by the Zimbabwe Republic Police Minerals and Border Control Unit, which has begun tracing proceeds through linked companies: Generous Resources, Milhub and Podhill. Herald

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