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Walter Mswazie recently in Zvishavane

PLATINUM producer Mimosa Mine is assisting small scale miners in Mberengwa and Zvishavane through provision of equipment and training on safety and other skills.

This emerged during a tour of the mine by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines and Mining Development on Tuesday.

Mimosa head of corporate affairs, Mrs Elizabeth Nerwande-Chibanda, said apart from assisting the community in infrastructural development, the company was supporting small scale miners to improve their operations.

“We are doing a lot in the community including assisting small scale miners around us. We have bought vehicles and other machinery for an association of artisanal miners to use,” she said.

Mrs Nerwande-Chibanda said small scale miners were taken through an induction exercise on a number of key aspects of formal mining so that they could also improve their operations.

“We sometimes take them for workshops, training them on how to conserve environment, reclaim gullies and other important aspects of mining.

The artisanal miners are also provided with some technical skills by our skilled personnel on how they can increase their production as well as on safety issues needed in extraction industry.

We are happy there is a marked improvement in the way they operate. We are doing this as part of our corporate social responsibility. When they present grievances the company assists them.

We are doing this to co-exist and also empower them,” she said.

Speaking at the same occasion general manager, Mr Alex Mushonhiwa, said the company had a “water tight” environment and safety policy that was also helping small scale miners.

“We have a clear policy, which should be strictly adhered to by anyone who comes to our premises.

That is the reason why every visitor is taken through an induction when she/he comes here. Likewise, we encourage our small scale miners around to embrace similar policies,” he said.

A member of the committee who is also Kwekwe Central National Assembly member, Mr Masango Matambanadzo, hailed the company for assisting artisanal miners as they were contributing a significant amount of gold deliveries to Fidelity Printers and Refiners. — @walterbmswazie2.