SA Mine deaths a wake-up call for locals

Lungelo Ndhlovu
THE death of 27 miners in South Africa last week is a wake-up call for illegal miners in Zimbabwe working in disused mine shafts in the country and the need to improve safety practices.
The incident at the disused mine shaft at Roodepoort Mine, where at least 22 Zimbabweans were killed, has got local artisanal miners thinking about how they can put in place mechanisms to avoid such fatal eventualities.

Wellington Takavarasha, president of the Zimbabwe Artisanal and Small Scale Miners Council, is of the view that safety policies should be implemented from the lowest base of the mining sector.

He said artisanal miners have often taken a relaxed approach to safety.
Takavarasha said it was dangerous to engage in mining activities without considering safety first because this resulted in unnecessary loss of lives or injuries.
“The loss of lives in Roodepoort recently was very unfortunate. It is very dangerous to just go into a mine shaft without appropriate safety wear because a lot can happen underground. Every miner must ensure that they are well equipped every time they go underground.

“There are a lot of hazardous substances in a mine such as gases and dust which can affect the miners’ lungs especially if one has not properly covered their mouth and nose. Poor ventilation or a tunnel roof collapsing can be deadly,” said Takavarasha.

For professional mining operations, miners are required to take some common safety precautions which include ensuring good ventilation in the mines, providing face protection and heavy clothing such as boots, a good lighting system and there must be a tracking system for miners going underground.

In Zimbabwe a lot of people risk their lives each and every day in search of gold. Some go to the extent of going underground in disused mine shafts which can collapse anytime.

These are the lives of people that are termed omakorokoza or otsheketsha, who spend most of their lives underground, seeking the precious metal in dangerous places.
“Indeed there are so many cases that have been reported of people that engage in illegal mining thereby putting their lives at risk especially in Gwanda, Esigodini, Hope Fountain, Kwekwe and Mazowe but we are launching a programme which is aimed at formalising mining operations so that people acquire licences that ensure  they mine in a safe environment,” said Takavarasha.

The history of small-scale mining in Zimbabwe dates back to the period well before colonisation. Small-scale mining contributes much to the Zimbabwean economy and an estimated 300,000 people are directly involved in gold panning activities along the 5,000km of Zimbabwe’s major rivers, including Mazowe, Angwa, Insiza, Runde and Bubi.

A small-scale miner from Hope fountain, Charles Ncube, who owns a number of small gold mine claims in the area, said that he takes safety precautions very seriously because he appreciates the dangers associated with mining.

He said he was saddened by the recent loss of lives in South Africa and hopes the local miners will draw lessons from the incident.
“We were shocked to learn that so many had died in the South African mine and we do not want a similar disaster to happen here.
“We however, have cases of people being buried alive locally but the numbers are small.

“Last year there were two guys who narrowly escaped death after the mine shaft gave in and they were trapped underground at Inyankuni,” said Mr Ncube.
He also said that it was dangerous to go underground during the rainy season and warned people against mining in disused mines.

“I hear in Gwanda there is an abandoned mine shaft which was left unattended by a miner long back. They say people can go for about eight kilometres underground in search of gold. You can only imagine what happens if one is trapped under such a tunnel. Many people just go in there without full knowledge of why this particular miner stopped mining,” said Ncube.