The Weekly is keeping a pulse on the emerging toxic legacy of alluvial gold mining in Mutare River by local small-scale miners and foreign companies which continues to pollute the river and downstream tributaries and destroy communities.
By Staff Reporter
The country’s supreme organ for the coordination of state security the Joint Operation Command (JOC) has cracked down on alluvial gold mining, halting illegal gold mining activities in Mutare River at Premier Estate. This crackdown comes against the backdrop of a cabinet ban on alluvial gold mining, growing concerns over environmental degradation, and labor rights abuses.
Local villagers and civic society organizations have raised concerns over the operations of Chinese-owned mining company Sino Africa, the influx of hammer mills, and panning activities along the Mutare River which pose significant environmental risks.
Rehabilitation of damaged areas remains a pressing concern with the community and Sino Africa also stands accused of cyanidation leaching and forging community signatures in their EIA document. These matters have been raised by the community and singled out in a Parliamentary petition submitted on behalf of the community by the Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG).
The petition by CNRG prayed the Parliament of Zimbabwe to exercise its oversight role, on administrative bodies and ministries charged with monitoring and evaluating the implementation of mining development policies; regulating the management of the environment, and promoting, coordinating, and monitoring the protection of the environment, and ensure the rampant unsafe mining practices taking place at Premier Estate are stopped for the safety of residents and preservation of the environment.
Following the petition and subsequent oral evidence presentation by CNRG, the Ministry of Mines has downplayed the devastating operation of reef miner Sino Africa stating that their operations were within the law despite a record of blasting disturbances by the community which destroyed property. Further operations of a joint company between the government and Belarus-Zim Gold Fields, also permitted by the Ministry of Mines for a specific reason under a special grant have also caused extensive degradation of the riverbed.
At a joint Parliamentary Portfolio Committee (PPC) hearing the Mines and Mineral Development and the Environment, Tourism and Climate PPCSs promised to visit Premiere Estates, in Manicaland province on a fact-finding mission to ascertain allegations of irresponsible mining practices.
However, before the visit materialized cabinet then pronounced a sweeping ban on alluvial gold mining, which critics argue is an insufficient pronouncement without statutory backing to enforce and prevent environmental damage and ensure responsible mining practices.
Similarly, the recent JOC blitz in Premier Estates also faces criticism as transparency concerns have arisen, as miners were allegedly warned before the operation, allowing them to confiscate machinery. CNRG community monitors also report that Sino-Africa operations were only halted for a few days, and they have since resumed under government sanction.
“We were called to a meeting by the JOC, Ministry of Mines, EMA, and the Minister of State who told us that the miner (Sino Africa) will resume operations and as the community we would submit our priority concerns to be addressed. The company promised to buy us a transformer to electrify, also compensation for those that had ore dumps in their fields these are some of our concerns.
“Our worry is that in the long run, there is no address of our concerns that we raised in the petition and that the issue of rehabilitation will be ignored altogether,” said one community monitor who spoke on condition of anonymity.
A hanging alluvial ban without enforcement
The Zimbabwean government’s ban on alluvial mining, announced by Minister of Information and Publicity Dr. Jenfan Muswere, lacks a clear enforcement and compliance strategy, rendering it ineffective. Despite concerns over environmental degradation, water pollution, and labor rights abuses, mining activities in Mutare River continue unabated.
The Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development provincial directorate has not received official communication on enforcing the ban, leaving officials “operating in the blind”. This lack of guidance hampers the mining inspectorate’s ability to enforce the ban, particularly since they work closely with other regulatory arms like the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) and the police.
In our previous coverage of the matter, Farai Maguwu, executive director of the Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG), cautioned that government pronouncements, no matter how well-intentioned, are not enough to curb the negative impacts of riverbed mining without amending the law. He emphasized that amending the Mines and Minerals Act and the Environmental Management Act is crucial to formalize the ban and protect the environment.
Maguwu says without a legal framework, risks associated with riverbed mining, including environmental damage and community displacement will persist undermining efforts to promote sustainable development and protect the environment.
“We are reminding the government that a similar ban was announced four years ago, they are therefore repeating the same thing that they did in 2020.
“Our call then and now is that merely announcing a cabinet decision is not enough. Government should expedite the amendment of the Mines and Minerals Act and the Environmental Management Act and formalize the ban in our statutes,” he said.
“The bigger goal is not about protecting the environment. It is about protecting ourselves from the calamities to come. The environment has been here and will outlive us all and will most probably heal itself from the violence we are inflicting on it. But we must know that for all our transgressions against nature, we shall be punished and sadly many shall pay for crimes they did not commit,” he added.
Until these issues are addressed, the ban on alluvial mining remains ineffective, and the environmental and social consequences will persist. The calls for action on the critical issues include the following
– Finalisation of the amendment of the Mines and Minerals Act to develop thorough oversight on the mining sect
– Develop a comprehensive enforcement and compliance strategy for the ban on alluvial gold mining
– Protect workers’ rights and ensure safe working conditions