adminZASMC president Mr Wellington Takavarasha said they would be going province by province in the country registering the artisanal miners and providing them with some of the equipment needed for mining.
“So far we have visited Dubane in Gwanda where we registered 150 artisanal miners including both men and women and donated mining equipment to them. We want to help them to defend their rights to mine,” he said.
He said his organisation was working in conjunction with the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development and Upfumi Kuvadiki. Mr Takavarasha said the programme was mainly aimed at assisting the youths who make up 80 percent of the artisanal miners in the country.
“We want them to obtain mining licences so that they can be registered miners. When they register it becomes easier for us to provide them with some of the required equipment,” he said.
Mr Takavarasha also said the Council wanted to educate the artisanal miners on the dangers of unsafe mining practices which were highly destructive to them and the environment.
Upfumi Kuvadiki president Mr Scott Sakupwanya said they started the programme after realising that so many youths were interested in mining but were finding it difficult to obtain licences to operate.
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