Qualified Mine Engineers mandatory for all mining ...

Qualified Mine Engineers mandatory for all mining operations: Govt

**Rescue efforts at Bay Horse Mine in Chegutu retrieved several bodies, but four could not be pulled out**

Zim Now Writer

It is mandatory for every mining operation, including those in the artisanal and small-scale sector, to have a qualified Mine Engineer leading their operations to ensure safe mining practices, Mines and Mining Development Minister Zhemu Soda has said.

This comes in the wake of the country recording several fatal accidents, particularly in the ASM sector with most of the causes hinging on negligence that leads to fall of ground.

Speaking at the 2023 Fourth Gold Mobilisation send-off workshop on Monday, Minister Soda said the core legislative framework governing all mining operations, the Zimbabwe Mines and Minerals Act, mandated that every mine must have a qualified Mine Engineer to ensure robust safety protocol s as well as the implementation of best 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 specialized skills,” Soda said.

Recent findings of the Gold Mobilisation Taskforce have shown that there has been a lapse in compliance as many small-scale mines are operating without the essential specialised skills as mandated by the Mines and Minerals Act.

**Mines and Mining Development Minister, Zhemu Soda**

The majority of ASGM do not have the technical expertise to engage in safe mining methods independently hence the many fatal accidents that have befallen the sector over the years.

Oftentimes, ASGM cannot afford the salary of the Mine Engineer, and, as a rwsult operate without, posig a direct threat to the overall com[petitiveness and sustainability of the mining sector.

On the other hand, poor salaries and safety concerns dissuade qualified personnel from ASGM.

Between January and September this year, the country has recorded 110 fatalities of which large-scale operations accounted for a mere 18% with the rest coming from the small-scale and illegal operations.

The bulk of the accidents have attributed to fall of ground, resulting in shafts collapsing, thereby trapping miners.

One of the worst disasters happened at Bay Horse Mine in Chegutu where 20 miners out of the 42 who were reportedly working underground perished when a shaft collapsed.

Two weeks earlier, a shaft at a small-scale mine along the Chegutu-Chinhoyi Road collapsed killing two.