A recent snap survey by The Weekly has uncovered the exploitation of small-scale chrome and gold miners in Zvishavane by Chinese contractors. These contractors are dictating prices for extracted minerals, leaving small-scale miners with little to no bargaining power.
The lack of competition in the market has resulted in Chinese buyers being the only major buyers, leading to suspicions of collusion among local small-scale miners. Furthermore, concerns have been raised about the accuracy of weighbridges, which are allegedly rigged, leaving miners vulnerable to exploitation.
Women miners in Zimbabwe face numerous challenges that hinder their ability to benefit from mining contracts. A recent case highlighted the need for capacity building among women miners, after a widow lost her claim due to lack of exposure and was misled into believing her land was being sublet.
Artisanal miners are also facing difficulties in securing contracts due to the influence of local sponsors with political connections. Some women have lost their claims, while others have been forced to pay bribes to resolve disputes.
The Zvishavane Association of Women in Mining Association (ZAWIMA) chairlady Shuvai Mutami has urged the government to intervene and safeguard small-scale miners from exploitation calling for more buyers to enter the market to create competition and fair prices.
Speaking at a capacity-building training organized by the Centre for Natural Resource Governance, she emphasized the need for protection, citing instances where small-scale miners are being taken advantage of by foreign investors and contractors.
ZAWIMA has been working to assist its members in resolving disputes, but the process is often slow and cumbersome with the e dispute resolution process biased towards those with more resources.
“We need more buyers in the market to create competition and fair prices. Currently, Chinese buyers are the only other major buyers, but as local small-scale miners, we suspect collusion as prices are low and suspiciously similar across the board.
“Moreover, we have concerns about the accuracy of weighbridges, which we think are rigged because we have no control over no control over calibration or settings, and this leaves us vulnerable to exploitation.
“We urge the government to take action to address our concerns and to provide support to women miners to access better contracts and resolve disputes.”
In other areas, artisanal miners face difficulties securing contracts due to the influence of local sponsors with political connections. Some women have lost their claims, while others have been forced to pay bribes to resolve disputes.
The mining activities in the area are also posing environmental hazards. In Muzvondiwa, miners are leaving uncovered pits after mining chrome, resulting in the loss of lives and livestock. The Environmental Management Agency (EMA) and Rende Rural District Council (RRDC) have been monitoring environmental concerns through community monitors, but enforcement remains a challenge.
The minerals being mined in the area include antimony, limestone, gold, lithium, tantalite, gemstones, and chrome.
Tracy Mutowekuziva, Head of Programs at CNRG, emphasized the organization’s commitment to addressing environmental degradation and promoting economic empowerment, social justice, and human rights.
She said CNRG’s capacity-building training initiative aims to empower women in mining communities in Zimbabwe, focusing on economic empowerment, social justice, and human rights. Mutowekuziva noted that their work with small-scale miners has highlighted the importance of capacity-building programs in empowering women miners.
Mutowekuziva criticized the existing contractual relationships between women miners, sponsors, and foreign investors, such as Chinese miners, stating that they are not mutually beneficial.
She stressed that the government needs to simplify and make dispute resolution processes more accessible to small-scale miners. Additionally, she advocated for support to be provided to small-scale miners, enabling them to secure better contracts and effectively resolve disputes.
“In our work with the small-scale miners, we have realized that capacity-building programs are important to empower women miners. The existing contractual relationships with sponsors and foreign investors like the Chinese miners are not mutually beneficial and support should be provided to women miners to access contracts and resolve disputes.
“We have also discovered that there is a need for government to work on the dispute resolution processes to be streamlined and made more accessible to small-scale miners,” she said.
This is a regional struggle in the continent which is acknowledged by the e Africa Mining Vision of 2009, which encompasses both large-scale and artisanal small-scale mining (ASM) and recommends that governments and development partners adopt a two-pronged approach to ASM.
This involves mitigating its negative impacts while enhancing its positive benefits, to transform the sector and maximize its contribution to poverty reduction and community resilience.
Essentially, governments and their development partners should develop sustainable strategies to support ASM, unlocking its potential value and ‘mitigate its negative consequences and enhance its positive benefits to transform it and maximize its contribution to poverty reduction and creation of resilient communities’.