Vusumuzi Dube
Sunday News Reporter
A mining company with interests in Bubi and other parts of the Matabeleland region has been fined by the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) for storing dangerous chemicals in its warehouse in Bulawayo without a licence.
DGL Investments, a mining company, was recently fined $9773280 by EMA for illegally storing cyanide and white calcium hydrazine.
“You are storing approximately 40 tonnes of cyanide and approximately 56 tonnes of white calcium hydrazine at a warehouse at 105 Plumtree Road, a site that is not licensed,” read part of the charge sheet from EMA.
The toxic substances were discovered by the company that owns the warehouse after they terminated the contract of a former director who had stored the chemicals without their knowledge. The warehouse owners then made a report to the police and EMA. Police investigations are still in progress, according to sources.
“Our company is a gold mining company which is situated at Queens Mine, Bubi, Bulawayo. We purchased mining equipment, for example, excavators, front loaders, bull dozer, tipper trucks, low bed truck, weight bridges, chrome balls, laboratory equipment as well as custom milling plant and CIL Plant worth over US$3 million. To process the ore into gold, we bought Cyanide and hydroxide lime,” said an official from the company.
Bongani Ndlovu