Mining dispute erupts in Matobo

Senior Reporter
A fresh wrangle between Bulawayo businessmen and a consortium of youths has erupted over control of Nugget Gold Mine in Matobo District.The dispute involves Mining Investment Syndicate whose directors include two politicians, Cdes Isaac Dakamela and Charles Isaiah Chiponda and a senior police officer, against a group of youths trading as Duive Enterprises (Pvt) Ltd.

Duive is made up of a group of youths who benefited from the Government indigenisation and empowerment programme, and have alleged that the politicians are using their political muscle to evict them from the mine.

The mine is situated on land belonging to the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority in the Matopos. One of the directors of Duive, Mr Themba Maphosa accused Mining Investment Syndicate of continuing to illegally occupy their land and allegedly stealing their mine dump.

“Nugget Mine was forfeited back to the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development and re-allocated to us by the mining commissioner for Bulawayo District after Mining Investment Syndicate failed to apply for renewal of the Special Grant. We are the new owners and we have documents to prove that.

“Our worry is that the directors of Mining Investment Syndicate are refusing to vacate our land and they continue to poach dump from our mine for milling and that is illegal because we have the licence to prospect, which they don’t have,” he said.

The youths are also accusing Mining Investment Syndicate of working in cahoots with a white miner only identified as Mr Smith to steal dump from their mine.

According to a letter from the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, Mining Investment Syndicate’s Special Grant expired in March this year.

The letter was signed by the mining commissioner for Bulawayo District, Ms Florence Lindiwe Thusi on 28 August. Documents seen by Chronicle, show that a Special Grant (Number 5835), was issued to Duive Enterprises (Pvt) Ltd in terms of Part XIX of the Mines and Minerals Act, Chapter 21:05.

The document, which is valid for 12 months, empowers the holder to carry out mining operations for gold on the designated land.
The holder pays an annual rental of $5 000 to the mining commissioner.

In the event that the rental remains unpaid for 14 days from the date of the mining commissioner’s demand, it shall be deemed to have been cancelled as at the date of issue.

The area measuring 250 hectares is within RA 1091 in the Mining District of Bulawayo. The two parties met at the mine on Monday to try and resolve the dispute.

A police officer who had been asked to intervene on the matter advised both camps to approach the courts to redress the issue.
They both maintained they are the rightful owners of the mine and have documents from the mining commissioner.

Cde Chiponda insisted that they were still the rightful owners of the mine.
“Our mining activities are legal at Nugget Mine. In fact, the mine is within the area of Matopo National Park and we have paid to the Environmental Management Agency and Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, who are owners of the land, something, which the youths have not done.

“I invested a lot of money in terms of machinery and I can’t afford to lose business because of people who don’t want to understand.
“They (Duive Enterprises) have 250 hectares, which is open to them for prospecting and ours is only nine hectares, so I don’t see the reason why they are nagging us,” he said.

Cde Chiponda  said they had invited the youths to work together but they have not been willing.
“We are simply saying let’s work together with each one of us concentrating on their claims without disturbing the other’s operations,” he said.

Contacted for comment, Ms Thuli said she was not aware of the dispute.
“I was not informed of any dispute regarding Nugget Mine hence I cannot comment on that,” she said.
Ms Thusi, however, said the Special Grant was only given to one person/company at a time.

The two companies first clashed in June last year over the ownership of the mining claims. The matter was also taken to the police who reportedly also advised them to engage each other first.