Online Reporter
Sione Amidu
AT Willsouth Mine, better known locally as Vhovha, the air smells of dust and sweat, not chemicals. That could change soon, as efforts intensify to transform how gold is extracted in one of Zimbabwe’s many artisanal mining hubs.
On Wednesday, a technical team from Planet GOLD Zimbabwe, working alongside officials from the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development and the Environmental Management Agency (EMA), walked through the mine’s open pits and rudimentary processing sites. Their visit formed part of a broader national effort to reduce the use of mercury in small-scale gold mining, a practice that has long underpinned livelihoods but at significant human and environmental cost.
Their mission was to help artisanal miners shift away from mercury and toward safer, more profitable gold recovery methods, while also encouraging formalisation of largely informal operations.
For the 34-year-old miner Mr Prosper Mudhimba, who has worked at Vhovha for three years, the visit resonated deeply.
“They once educated us on the effects of mercury on our bodies and the environment. We understand that it damages the nervous system and can cause long-term health problems. We are accepting the new methods being proposed because health matters most. If there is a way to get the gold without putting our lives at risk, we will take it,” he said.
Artisanal mining is the main income source for many at Vhovha, reflecting a nationwide reality where small-scale gold mining sustains hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans amid limited formal employment opportunities.
However, the method most commonly used at the site is mercury amalgamation, which carries heavy health and environmental costs. The technique involves mixing mercury with crushed ore to bind fine gold particles, forming an amalgam that is later heated to extract the gold.
In instances where the miners burn amalgam to separate gold, mercury vapour escapes into the air, exposing miners and nearby communities to toxic fumes. Its subsequent spills contaminate soil and water, entering the food chain and affecting communities far beyond the mine, with long-term ecological and public health implications.
The World Health Organization and the Minamata Convention on Mercury, which Zimbabwe ratified, call for reducing and ultimately eliminating mercury use in artisanal and small-scale gold mining. The convention, adopted globally, recognises mercury as a major threat to human health, particularly to neurological development and vulnerable populations such as women and children.
Planet GOLD Zimbabwe is putting that commitment into practice through on-site training and demonstrations of mercury-free technologies designed to both improve gold recovery rates and protect miners’ health.
At Vhovha, the project is already taking root. The mine has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Planet GOLD Zimbabwe to reduce and eventually stop mercury use altogether. The agreement opens the door to technical support, training, and potential access to improved equipment.
In return, miners will receive training on alternative methods that enhance gold recovery without the associated health risks. These include gravity concentration techniques and the use of retorts to safely capture mercury vapour during a transitional phase.
“We mine to live and if mining is killing us slowly, then what is the point? We want to work in a way that our children can also benefit from this land,” said Mudhimba.
Women make up a significant proportion of Vhovha’s workforce, particularly in processing and support roles. For them, mercury exposure is not an abstract risk but an everyday reality.
“Mercury is harmful to a woman and her reproductive system. We have heard of cases where women fall sick, and children are born with problems. So, we don’t want that and If there are other ways to extract gold that do not use mercury, we accept them. We want to earn a living, but not at the cost of our health,” said miner Miss Rayline Ndlovu.
Miss Ndlovu said many women at the mine were eager to learn new methods, provided that training programmes were accessible and equipment was made available at an affordable cost. She added that mining income remains essential for household survival.
She said with mining income they were able to pay school fees and to put food on the table. However, she stressed that this should not come at the expense of long-term health, particularly among women of childbearing age.
Speaking during the field visit, Planet GOLD Zimbabwe’s Programmes Manager, Miss Nyaradzo Mutonhori, said the exercise went beyond merely inspecting current mining practices. She said it was about building a pathway for miners to operate legally, safely, and profitably, while aligning Zimbabwe’s artisanal mining sector with international environmental standards.
“We conducted this technical visit to understand how miners are currently processing gold, identify challenges, and find areas for improvement. We have seen the whole process and now we return with findings and provide practical training on better recovery methods, safer environmental practices, and ways to improve overall mining operations,” said Miss Mutonhori.
She noted that formalisation remained a critical challenge, as many miners at Vhovha operate without valid permits. This, she said, limits their access to formal markets, financial services, and government support programmes.
This scenario, she said, cuts them off from formal markets and finances since they can’t access loans for equipment and remain vulnerable to exploitation by middlemen who often dictate prices for gold.
“When miners are formalized, they can sell gold through legal channels, get a fair price, and reinvest in better equipment. That is how you break the cycle of poverty and environmental damage. The new methods focus on improving recovery rates while removing mercury. Gravity concentrators can capture up to 80 percent of gold without chemicals. Retorts allow miners to capture mercury vapour for reuse during the transition period.”
She highlighted that in many cases, miners operate under the assumption that mercury is the only viable way to recover fine gold, a belief that persists due to limited exposure to alternative technologies.
“Once they see the results from mercury-free methods, and see that they can get more gold and stay healthy, the mind-set changes,” she added.
She said several miners had told the visiting team that they were willing to adopt new techniques, provided these are demonstrably effective and the training is practical, hands-on, and tailored to their day-to-day operations.
Vhovha sits in a region where mining drives the local economy, supporting not only miners but also traders, transporters and surrounding communities. If mercury-free methods take hold here, the benefits could extend far beyond the mine.
Reduced mercury use is expected to translate into safer water sources, healthier soils for agriculture, and fewer long-term health complications linked to toxic exposure. In a region where livelihoods are closely intertwined with the environment, such changes could have lasting impact.
“The key message is opportunity. Opportunities for improvement through government and Planet GOLD support, practical solutions for safer and more efficient gold extraction, and showing how artisanal mining can drive community development—health, livelihoods, and local economic growth,” she said.
At Vhovha, that message appears to be gaining traction. For miners like Mudhimba and Ndlovu, the promise of safer techniques offers something rarely associated with artisanal mining: the possibility of securing a livelihood without sacrificing health, and of ensuring that the next generation inherits both economic opportunity and a safer environment.
