Renew licences or else, granite miners told

area facilitated by the EMA Mashonaland East provincial office.
It emerged during the tour, whose theme was “Effects of granite mining on the environment”, that the companies last renewed the EIA licences in 2010.
EMA Mutoko district environment officer Mr Washington Zinzombe said it was mandatory for the mining concerns to renew IEA licences every two years.
“The renewal of the licences is in accordance to the Environment Management Act (Cap 20:27) that was established in 2007,” he said.
“Some of the mines started operating in the 1950s when they were not required to submit EIAs. These must submit Environment Management Plans.”
The plans promote safe environmental activities and spell out how an organisation will rehabilitate an exploited area. Mr Zinzombe lamented operators’ habits of abandoning sites they would be exploiting before embarking on new ones. Those who abandoned sites, some as way back as the 1990s, include Keely Granites in Chindenga Ward, GEC Floquet in Kabasa and Zimbabwe International Quarries in Kambudzi.
Quarrying Enterprises has also abandoned a site in Nyamuganhu Ward, while CRG Quarries has abandoned three sites in the same ward.
“Although some companies have been mostly compliant when submitting mandatory quarterly reports, some have been truant,” said Mr Zinzombe.
“As EMA, we will not hesitate to close down such concerns like we did to Fienex Quarry a couple of years ago.”