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Farirai Machivenyika and Wallace Ruzvidzo
GOVERNMENT does not have any plans to ban small-scale mining activities for the foreseeable future, Mines and Mining Development Deputy Minister Dr Polite Kambamura has said.
This comes following misguided reports by some media outlets that the deputy minister had banned small-scale mining activities.
In an interview yesterday, Dr Kambamura cleared the air, saying small-scale miners were an important constituency in the country’s mining industry hence Government would not ban their activities.
“We did not ban underground mining; we value the contributions coming from the small-scale sector, especially the gold sub-sector, but above all life is sacred and we value the lives of people and safety will be a priority.
“So underground mining is not banned and we do not have any plans to ban small-scale underground mining, but what we are saying is if there are bad weather conditions our miners should consider safety,” he said.
The Deputy Minister said he had only advised small-scale miners to suspend their operations as a cautionary measure during this rainy season, especially after the collapse of a mining Shaft in Makaha, Mudzi, last week resulting in the trapping of three small-scale miners.
“I issued a comment on the matter (Makaha incident) advising small-scale miners to consider suspending going underground, considering the dangers posed by incessant rains and the weak ground conditions that can lead to mine flooding and ground collapse.
“On 13 February 2019 we had a similar case at Battlefields in Kadoma where small-scale miners were flooded by rain and we lost 24 miners as a result, so as a cautionary statement we advised small-scale miners not to go underground especially when it is raining and only resume going underground when weather conditions have improved,” he said.
In an earlier statement, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, Mr Pfungwa Kunaka said Government values small-scale gold miners and their contribution to the economy.
Mr Kunaka said authorities had only issued cautionary statements for the safety of the small-scale miners in the current rainy season.
Online Reporter