Why Zimbabwe’s environment is under threat from illegal mining File pic

Stanford Chiwanga
HORDES of middle-aged, topless and barefooted men wearing muddy jeans are busy digging for gold using picks and shovels. Children of school going age and their guardians work in pits full of muddy water, sifting the extracted ore in search of the yellow metal, oblivious of any health or environmental hazards.

As the news crew’s car grinds to a halt, the panners suddenly disappear into the thicket, suspicious it could be a police raid.

This is how illegal panners in the gold-rich mining area in Motapa, Bubi District, Matabeleland North province live daily.

But their activities have cost the environment of its vegetation.

The panners leave behind big yawning craters filled with stagnant mercury polluted waters, mounds of sand and fallen trees.

The mining area is synonymous with dust-coated shrubs, residual mining pits, defaced roads and silted rivers and dams.

Communities and livestock are exposed to contaminated drinking water and the mining activities also affect pastures.

Dumaza Mpofu, one of the panners who was courageous enough to speak to the news crew said he was only interested in the gold and did not care about how his activities would damage the environment.

“The belt of gold is along the road and that’s why the road is now damaged. Life is tough and we don’t have any other source of income besides gold panning. Crop farming isn’t viable due to the erratic rains received in this region,” said Mpofu as he wiped off sweat from his face with the back of his hand.

Various rudimentary methods of mining used by illegal panners have led to deforestation and the siltation of rivers.

Despite efforts by the government to formalise and regulate unregistered mining operations, illegal mining continues to be a menace to the environment resulting in the destruction of the ecosystem in many areas endowed with rich mineral resources.

Village head, Jeff Matshelela whose area of jurisdiction is Ward 20 4A and B Britwell Village, said rampant illegal gold panning had reached unprecedented levels and could not be allowed to go unchecked as it poses a health hazard to communities and livestock in the area.

“Although these activities are vital for socioeconomic development and help in fighting the biting poverty, the associated environmental impact needs to be controlled. Our livestock drink polluted water and grazing areas for livestock have become scarce,” said Matshelela.

Illegal mining activities have taken precedence over any other economic activity in gold-rich areas thereby undermining the importance of the environment in which they are being carried out.

The unabated illegal mining activities continue to spread in the province without any environmental protection measures being taken.

Most of the gold extracted in the area is reportedly finding its way to the black market, depriving the government of the much needed revenue.

The Minister of Environment, Water and Climate Oppah Muchinguri said unregulated mining activities have a negative impact on the environment and there was a need to put in place environmental safety control measures.

“The upsurge in illegal mining activities is due to economic challenges facing the country. This poses a great challenge to EMA as they cause serious land degradation with no solution in sight. Toxic chemicals such as mercury and cyanide used in the extraction of gold ends up in rivers posing a health hazard to both animals and humans,” said Minister Muchinguri.

EMA noted that illegal gold panning would remain a threat to the environment and said part of the solution was to register illegal miners into syndicates or cooperatives so that their activities are regulated.

Another villager, Jennifer Magwa, blamed the owners of some mining concessions for hiring unemployed youths to extract the ore on their behalf.

“Some owners of mine claims hire unemployed youths to extract gold in the area without taking into consideration proper environmental protection measures,” said Magwa.

She said this kind of arrangement had pushed many unemployed youths to dig haphazardly in search of the yellow metal.

Minister Muchinguri said mining by nature is destructive to the environment but noted that the activities needed to be regulated for the benefit of the country.

Unregulated mining activities have destroyed the environment in the gold rich area of Motapa. Illegal mining activities remain a threat to the environment but we’ve engaged owners of the mining claims in Motapa to assist the unemployed youths to form mining syndicates or cooperatives in order to educate them on the importance of protecting the environment,” said Cde Sibanda.

The use of mercury by illegal miners in gold processing is another environmental challenge.

However, efforts are being made to reduce the use and release of mercury for health and environmental reasons globally.

Zimbabwe is a signatory to the recent Minamata Convention signed in Japan meant to regulate the use of mercury.

The objective of the convention is to stop completely the use of mercury in gold mining activities.

Mercury is highly toxic and can cause serious illness and death in humans and animals.

Zimbabwe Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Council (Zamsco) president Wellington Takavarasha said there was a lot of damage to the environment caused by unregulated mining activities and the use of mercury.

“There is need to harmonise the legislation that govern the mining activities and those that protect the environment. In light of this, Zimbabwe is a signatory to the Minamata guidelines which seek to ban the use of mercury to save the environment and protect communities from unfriendly mining activities,” said Takavarasha.

He said the phasing out of the use of mercury was in line with modern mining technologies.

It is estimated that 1,5 million people are engaged in artisanal mining activities of which 500,000 are said to be directly employed by the sector.

However, only an estimated 25,000 are registered with the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development.

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