Burrowing to death: Artisanal miners hollow the ea...

Burrowing to death: Artisanal miners hollow the earth putting lives, buildings at risk

Edmore Zvinonzwa

Mining has for long been one of Zimbabwe’s major foreign currency earners with gold, diamonds and the platinum group of minerals buoying operations in the sector.

Statistics show that in May this year, small-scale producers accounted for 63 percent of total deliveries of gold to Fidelity, a subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.

While artisanal mining provides livelihoods for many, especially young Zimbabweans who have not been able to either join the jobbing market or trek out of the country, the small-scale gold sector has lagged behind in ensuring the safety of miners.

The sector has, however, not followed Ministry of Mines and Mining Development guidelines and regulations, despite their top performance.

This has almost sounded like snorting at government, which has allowed them to operate but under regulations of the Mines and Mining Development ministry.

As a result, the authorities have been forced to take a stance towards making artisanal miners’ operations compliant as they have often endangered themselves as well as buildings and other people on the surface.

The Mines has sort involvement right from claim registration through adherence to safety standards although there still is a limit to what they can do in terms of enforcement.

Once notified of the intention to mine, the Mines Ministry routinely inspects arrangements made and ensures safety standards are in place before mining commences.

These laid-down safety standards are, however, hardly followed to the book because, by and large, the location of some of the mining operations is not immediately known.

It has also been noted that recommendations of the Environmental Management Agency, the government body mandated with ensuring environmental regulations are complied with countrywide, have not been sought by artisanal miners. EMA, which itself is not fully capacitated in terms of the law, gives miners Environmental Impact Assessment reports, which guide how operators should work with minimum damage to the environment.

Some of the artisanal miners’ operations are in disused mines like Jumbo in Mazowe and several others countrywide, especially around Bindura, Shamva, Chegutu, Kadoma, Kwekwe and Gwanda among others.

As a result of these mistakes of omission and commission, mishaps have befallen mainly these unregistered small mining operations where the mining inspectors have no idea what they are mining, where exactly and how?

Last year alone, several mishaps and fatalities were reported, the bulk of them resulting from fall of earth in the tunnels the miners will be working.

These mishaps include the caving in of a classroom at Globe and Phoenix Primary School in Kwekwe where a tunnel caved in after artisanal miners hollowed the ground under the school, leading to one of the classrooms collapsing, injuring some learners.

The school was abandoned, as authorities looked at the safety issues around the buildings.

In a bizarre but unconfirmed incident that took place in the same Midlands city, employees at an outlet belonging to a large supermarket chain, were startled when miners suddenly emerged from underneath while they were mining for gold.

Recorded mishaps resulting from total disregard of regulations and the law are many. The National Railways of Zimbabwe has recorded cases where miners have been digging up railway reserves, putting train traffic at the risk of derailment.

The fatalities have also be several. About a year ago, two miners died after a shaft they were working in at the MJ Mining Syndicate claim in Hwedza, whose ownership has been a source of wrangling lately, collapsed.

Also, at Matsetshetshe, in Esigodini, Matabeleland South Province, six artisanal miners, including four from the same family, were trapped underground when a mine collapsed.

At least 10 gold miners were also buried alive at the Premier Mining area, which is owned by Zimgold Fields, along Mutare River.

In Mashonaland Central Province, ten artisanal miners were trapped when a shaft collapsed at Ran Mine in Bindura.

Most of these fatalities have taken place at small mines where operations have not followed regulations and where their enforcement has not been strict. This has mainly been at disused mines, which artisanal miners invade and dig for gold.

Also, mining in the country, especially artisanal, has not been orderly, resulting in difficulties in carrying out inspections as well as compliance with obtaining regulations.

According to former Mines and Mining Development Minister Winston Chitando, enforcement of the law has been hampered by the shortage of resources.

“As a general thrust, to contain the accidents, there is need to increase the visibility of the ministry in inspection. Every mining location in the country should be covered by the mining inspector who should have intimate knowledge on each and every mining place. This helps the government to know potential risks and to mitigate against those risks,” said Chitando, who has since moved to the Local Government and Public Works Ministry.

Added Chitando: “The enablers, the vehicles and other resources required have not grown corresponding to the increase in mining concessions. As of 2018, we had in some cases an average of two vehicles per province assigned to the whole ministry to carry out its functions and that curtailed the effectiveness of the inspector.”

While agreeing on resources, Chitando’s successor at Mines and Mining Development, Zhemu Soda seems to place his hopes on compliance of miners with the obtaining legislative framework in order to ensure incidence of mine accidents is minimised.

Soda said it is mandatory for every mining operation, including small-scale miners, to have a Mine Engineer to ensure safe mining practices.

“One of the requirements of the Mines and Minerals Act is that mines should employ a Mine Manager, who is a qualified Engineer. Most of ASGM do not have the technical skills of the Mine Manager, Geologist, Surveyor and Metallurgist. Most of the mines are operating without these critical specialised skills,” Soda said.

Zimbabwe Mines and Minerals Act mandates that every mine must have a qualified Mine Engineer to ensure robust safety protocols as well as the implementation of best mining practices are followed.

The country’s response to mine disasters, like other mishaps, also needs to be revamped.

“The country’s response to mine disasters also needs to be revamped, considering that accidents that have happened over the past year indicate that there is room for improvement in terms of how we react and equip ourselves to deal with accidents,” Chitando said.

Environmental and safety expert, Tawanda Collins Muzamwese, attributed the majority of mining accidents to the Fall of Ground. “Most fatalities in the extractive sector can be attributed to fall of ground where shafts collapse, burying miners underground,” adding that this has a number of causes.

These include negligence and risky practices , which have led to the majority of mine disasters, especially in the small-scale sector.

Another recurring cause is of miners chipping away layers from support pillars in search of traces of gold and, as they continue chipping away, the pillars themselves become too thin to support the earth above, leading to eventual collapse.

Some miners get into shafts when the earth is too damp from the rains.

All these can be avoided if there is a mine engineer on site, who will give direction on whether or not it is possible to continue with mining activities.

Centre for Natural Resources governance director, Farai Maguwu weighed in saying he parent mining law, the Mines and Minerals Act (Chapter 21:05) of 1961, had become outdated and no longer aligned with modern national and international mining law developments.

“CNRG calls for holistic amendments to address some of the key challenges, including but not limited to: the lack of recognition and support for artisanal and small-scale miners, the absence of local mineral beneficiation, which hinders the country’s ability to maximise economic benefits from its mineral resources. …other outdated provisions that hinder the development of a modern and sustainable mining industry,” Maguwu said.

The CNRG boss added that proposed amendments are likely to bring the country’s mining laws with international best practices, promote development and ensure Zimbabwe’s mineral resources are exploited responsibly and equitably.

The amended Mines and Minerals Act should take care of all safety concerns, especially for small-scale and artisanal miners, who are not as resourced as their bigger counterparts in the extractive industry.

This can only happen when the mining itself is regulated and the regulators know of all mining operations taking place across the country, as desperation, which has often forced risky mining to overlook safety issues, as miners turn these into survival opportunities.