Online Reporter
Fidelis Munyoro-Chief Court Writer
ILLEGAL gold miners are defying a Government ban on all gold mining at Mazowe Mine, swarming the site daily, despite the formal suspension order and a rising death toll from the unsafe environment.
This comes as the mine owner is reportedly finding it difficult to force the illegal miners off.
The Ministry of Mines and Mining Development shut down all operations at the mine on March 28 last year, citing dangerous conditions, including collapsing shafts, open ground cracks and lack of safety controls.
But, illegal miners have ignored the directive, continuing to dig with crude equipment and zero safety precautions.
Owned by Mazowe Mining Company (Pvt) Ltd, a subsidiary of Metallon Corporation, the mine has been in disarray since 2018 when hundreds of illegal miners overran the company’s Lease 35 claim in Mazowe Goldfields.
Since then, formal mining has ground to a halt.
Tragedy struck again this month. On July 11, a blast killed 78-year-old Kundai Nyatsime and seriously injured Tatenda Chitimbe, who later died at Concession Hospital.
A week later, on July 18, six illegal miners were killed and four more injured when a hoist bucket plummeted down a 45-metre shaft.
Police recorded the earlier blast under case RBB 6347438. Despite these incidents, the miners remain undeterred.
In a letter on June 6 this year, Government Mining Engineer Michael Munodawafa reminded Mazowe Goldfields of their responsibility to enforce the ban.
“It appears no action has been taken to rectify the issues raised,” Eng Munodawafa wrote.
“You are required to make sure that all operations by yourselves or by any other individual or group is suspended within your Lease 35. There has been an increase in fatal accidents due to breach of our suspension. The country is losing a lot in terms of production and revenue.”
He stressed that the suspension would only be lifted once all safety issues were addressed and full control of the site restored.
Meanwhile, Mazowe Mine management has turned to the police and courts for help.
In a letter on May 22 this year, the police were asked to assist in clearing the mine. Officers gave miners until June 26 to vacate, but several syndicates rushed to the High Court with an urgent application to block the eviction.
The court is yet to make a ruling. Mazowe Mine says it cannot comply with the Ministry’s demands while illegal miners remain entrenched.
Mr Ranga Mberi, public relations manager for mine parent company Namib Minerals, said; “Namib Minerals fully supports the Government of Zimbabwe’s directive of 28 March 2024, calling for the immediate cessation of illegal mining activities in the Mazowe area.”
