Chronicle Editor
Judith Phiri, Sunday News Reporter
NEGLIGENCE and greed have been identified as major causes to deaths among artisanal and small-scale miners.
Young Miners Foundation (YMF) in partnership with the Midlands State University (MSU) Faculty of Engineering and Geosciences last week launched the Mining Safety Campaign 2021, aimed at bringing awareness to miners on how to prevent devastating deaths that have occasionally been witnessed in the mining sector.
In his online presentation during the Mining Safety Campaign 2021 virtual launch, YMF board chairperson and operations director at Access Ventura Mr Talent Chitepo said among some of the causes of accidents in mines, negligence and agreed were a contributing factor.
“One of the causes of accidents at mines owned by artisanal and small-scale miners is negligence and greed, whereby miners want to get to the gold-bearing material at minimum cost. They operate on a hit and run largely because they are not formalised, hence we urge all miners to formalise their operations,” said Mr Chitepo.
He added that lack of resources was another challenge as there was little or no investment in Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and advanced technology by artisanal and small-scale miners. And as a foundation, they were calling for innovative solutions which are low-cost homegrown solutions in the manufacturing of PPE and machinery.
Mr Chitepo also noted that skills and training were also key in the mining industry as some of the unsafe mining methods were evidence that there is lack of mining skills, hence a gap they were to cover through the opening of the Young Miners Academy in March.
“Regulations should be revised so that there is a provision for health and safety standards that are achievable in the sector. These standards should be on a sliding scale depending on the complexity of the mining operation. I would like to highlight that the Environmental Management Agency instead of using punitive measures to effect Environmental and Safety issues, it should actually incentivise and or educate rather than punish.”
MSU Faculty of Engineering and Geosciences assistant lecturer Ms Caroline Machumi said institutions should also contribute in mining safety improvement in the country.
“The improvement of mining safety is for the benefit of society, mining organisations, workers, and families considering that workplace safety and health plays an important role in organisational development, societal well-being, and employees’ welfare,” she said.
According to statistics from the National Social Security Authority Mining and quarrying industry attribute to 20 percent of the deaths they record.
Amosa Safety Academy chief executive officer Mr Anderson Magawa said basic minimum PPE such as head, eye, ear, respiratory, body, hand and foot protection were essential for all mining activities.
The campaign was formulated after the realisation that the small-scale mining sector in Zimbabwe has been hit by a plague of deaths and critical injuries due to unsafe mining practices with poor adherence to Health and Safety Standards.
The small-scale mining sector directly supports rural communities by providing a means of livelihood. The campaign also seeks to address the constraints that affect this sector in their efforts to be productive.
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