Zimbabwe's Duration Gold expects to produce 100 000 oz/y of gold by 2012, the back of the country's liberalised gold trade and an improving investment climate, a company official said.

Duration Gold, a privately owned firm controlled by the Jersey-based Clarity Capital, bought up several Zimbabwean mines in 2006, which it kept under care-and-maintenance until 2009, when a power-sharing government was formed in Zimbabwe.

Duration Gold CEO Errol Smart told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of a weekend mining conference that the group was pursuing an aggressive growth strategy for its Zimbabwean gold mines.

"We are currently producing 1 600 oz per month from our three mines, but see ourselves hitting 5 000 oz per month by year-end," Smart said.

"Our target is 100 000 oz annually by 2012."

Smart said Duration Gold's approach was to purchase existing small-scale mines and build them into clusters. The firm operates mines in the southern part of the country, with combined 5 million ounce reserves and employing 1,400 workers.

"We have invested $20 million so far in exploration and mine development. We will be building world-class mines as we firmly believe that Zimbabwe's mining will soon take off in a big way," he said.

Smart said Duration Gold was concerned by Zimbabwe's empowerment laws – which seek to transfer majority control of all foreign firms to local blacks – but the government appeared to be heeding the mining industry's proposals on the matter.

"Of course we are concerned, but the important thing is that Mugabe and the [Mines] Minister stood up at this conference to say:" This is the position on mines, you have no need to fear," Smart said. "That is the clarity we need."

Mugabe told the mining conference that his government would not expropriate mines and would consider the need to encourage investors to expand current production and promote growth in the capital intensive mining industry as it implemented the empowerment laws.