FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
HARARE 30 APRIL 2026
The Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG), together with the Zimbabwe Diamond and Allied Workers Union (ZIDAWU) and the Centre for Research and Policy Development in Africa (CRPDA), expresses grave concern over dangerous and unsustainable mining activities taking place on the Christmas Pass mountain range in the Toronto/Penhalonga area.
On 22 April, a joint team conducted a field investigation at an open-cast gold mining site operated by a Chinese mining company. What we witnessed is not just environmental degradation, it is a disaster in the making.
Mining operations are being carried out on a steep mountain gradient, with extensive removal of vegetation and topsoil of the open cast operations. This may critically weaken the structural integrity of the mountain. The result is an immediate and escalating risk of mudslides and debris flows, particularly during the rainy season.
Communities living below the mountain, especially residents of Toronto and learners at Hillcrest School, are now directly exposed to potential catastrophe. A single heavy downpour could trigger landslides with devastating consequences for lives, homes, and public infrastructure.
Christmas Pass is not just any mountain. It is a landmark of historical, environmental, and cultural significance to Mutare. Its ongoing destruction represents an irreversible loss to both heritage and ecology.
Engagements with the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) confirmed that the agency has issued rehabilitation orders, acknowledging the severity of environmental damage. However, monitoring alone is not enough when lives are at risk. Compliance must be enforced urgently and decisively. Furthermore, our team did not witness any rehabilitation works. On the contrary, we were informed that they are setting up equipment for large scale open cast gold mining. This will also affect Murambi, Fairbridge, Florida and several other neighborhoods in Mutare.
The situation is further complicated by claims of private land ownership. We emphasize that private ownership does not override public safety obligations. Under environmental law, no mining operation is permitted to endanger communities or degrade ecosystems with impunity.
Equally alarming is the proximity of mining operations to residential areas and Hillcrest School. This is in clear violation of Section 31C of the Mines and Minerals Act which states that areas “within the surveyed limits of any city, town, township or village, or upon a belt fifty metres in width outside such limits” are not open to prospecting. There is clear evidence of inadequate buffer zones, exposing communities to dust, noise, and geological instability. The safety of children cannot be negotiable.
CNRG has formally submitted a request for information to the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development regarding the legality, scope, and regulatory compliance of these operations. Transparency is now critical. The public has a right to know who is mining, under what conditions, and at what cost to human life and the environment.
We demand urgent action:
-
- An independent and transparent safety audit of the mountain’s structural stability
-
- Immediate review of the permit authorizing mining operations at Christmas Pass and its compliance with legal boundaries
-
- If there is no such permit, an immediate arrest of the perpetrators of these environmental crimes
-
- Strict enforcement of rehabilitation orders issued by EMA
-
- Suspension of mining activities in high-risk zones until safety is guaranteed
This is a test of Zimbabwe’s commitment to responsible mining, environmental justice, and the protection of its citizens. Failure to act will not only constitute regulatory negligence, but it will also be complicity in a preventable disaster.
As civil society organizations we stand with the communities of Penhalonga. Their safety, rights, and environment must come before profit.
Issued by:
Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG)
Centre for Research and Policy Development in Africa (CRPDA),
Zimbabwe Diamond and Allied Workers Union (ZIDAWU)