By Staff Reporter.
The Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG) has renewed its calls for accountable, safe and transparent mining in the country following reports of continued deaths of artisanal miners at Penhalonga Mine in Manicaland province of Zimbabwe.
Recently two artisanal miners were trapped underground at the gold mine.
Following an almost two-week search for the artisanal miners who were buried underground when their mine shaft collapsed, the Penhalonga Community in the Manicaland province exhaled a sigh of relief on Friday, August 27 when the bodies were exhumed.
The incident happened along the Mutare River. Rescue crews had been looking for the trapped miners for almost a week with little results, prompting local traditional leader Chief Mutasa and villagers to carry out a ritual ceremony to guide the rescue teams to the remains of the miners.
The mine is believed to be owned by Simba Dumbura who is working in partnership with some Chinese nationals. Penhalonga has been home to vast open-cast alluvial gold mining, especially along the Mutare River.
The bodies were later discovered in a decomposed state last Friday. After discovering the two bodies, rescuers were shocked to discover remains of a third artisanal miner in the same shaft who appear to have died several months ago, if not years.
Following the incident, CNRG director Farai Maguwu expressed concern over the continued illegal mining of gold in Penhalonga in a manner that is not safe, accountable, transparent and benefiting local communities.
“As CNRG, we have been urging accountability and transparency in the mining sector for over a decade. Our calls are motivated by our observation that, despite being touted as the cure for Zimbabwe’s economic recovery, mining is actually contributing to bad governance, poor service delivery, environmental destruction and organized crime,” he said adding:
“We therefore strongly recommend that all mining operations in Zimbabwe adhere to safety laws, benefit the local population through enhanced service delivery, generate employment, and minimize damage to the environment.”
Due to the country’s high unemployment rate, many Zimbabweans turn to artisanal mining to make ends meet. Over 26 fatalities in the country’s mining areas were reported in January 2023 alone as a result of artificial miners taking unnecessary risks by operating in abandoned, dangerous tunnels.
The majority of informal mining activities are carried out in hazardous conditions, with multiple fatalities recorded as a result of mining shaft collapses.
“As the Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG), we are deeply concerned with the type of mining practices that has been taking place in Penhalonga, which expose miners to the risk of death,” said Maguwu.
Most small-scale miners lack the machinery necessary for underground mining. There are illegal collaborations between big mining companies such as Better Brands and small-scale miners, who then conduct hazardous surface mining, which leads to a high rate of mining-related injuries and fatalities.
CNRG has been consistent in reiterating that the model of operations that is happening in Penhalonga is against responsible mining tenets which is resulting in increased deaths.
Initially, Redwing mining was expected to have resuscitated underground operations but instead went on to carry surface mining resulting in repeated collapsing of shafts.
As a result of unsafe mining practices, underground mining accidents are rampant as there are no safety measures at all at the mine.
Betterbrands mining has also been contributing to environmental degradation sometimes contributing to livestock loss due to open pits that are left by their miners.
As a result, there has been an ecological calamity. Since 2020, more than 100 deaths have been reported, according to local sources.
The corruption at the mine has been worrying. There has been brazen contempt for mining laws through political patronage, tax evasion, mineral smuggling, and human rights violations.
Another worrying concern is that Mr Dumbura’s mining activities are threatening the Penhalonga road which risk collapsing due to underground tunnels. This is also happening very close to Penhalonga Police Station.
Pollution has been rampant. The existing inadequate water bodies have been polluted, and roads extensively damaged in the illegal mining happening in Penhalonga.
CNRG maintains that authorities such as the police, Environmental Management Agency (EMA) Ministry of Mines and the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee of Mines have the responsibility to bring a lasting solution to the mining model of Redwing Mine.