The Sunday Mail
Leroy Dzenga
Senior Reporter
THE air is still heavy in the dozy mining and farming community of Lowdale, in Mazowe.
An unprecedented chain of events which plunged the community of about 500 labourers and artisans into mourning, is still fresh on their minds.
On October 6, a mine welder died in the line of duty, when a gas cylinder exploded, the next day, six of his colleagues met their demise under similar circumstances.
The deaths happened at a nickel smelting plant owned by Labenmon Investments, operating under the name SAS Mine.
Lydia Garwe, (left) wife to the late Munashe Amon says she does not know how she will take care of the baby she is carrying
Munashe Amon (21) who was the first casualty, had just joined SAS Mine having been attracted by their relatively better salaries compared to neighbouring mines.
His mother Mrs Maria Muswati, said he had not tasted the fruits of his switch.
“He had worked for SAS Mine for over a month, and was yet to get his pay. He was looking forward to using the better salary to improve his conditions and take care of his wife.
“Up to now I do not understand why he was the only person to be affected by the gas explosion on the day he died,” she said.
The family had to confront the gory nature of their son’s death, as his body spent six days being studied by forensic investigators at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals in Harare.
“The way he died, his body was broken into small pieces.
“They had to search the whole field picking up his remains.
“No one should die that way,” said Mrs Muswati.
Amon was buried at Chitamba Farm last Thursday.
She hopes that the company, which provided US$800 to cover for burial, will help
“My son left a pregnant wife. I am hoping that the company will extend some resources to help the child.”
The last memory his family has of him was when he nicked roasted maize from his brother’s plate, while rushing to work.
Amon’s wife, Lydia Gwaze could not muster words to communicate her pain, she could only wail in silence sitting against the muddied walls of their family rondavel.
Amon’s nephew, Dickson Mulamba who works at the same mine said he is struggling to erase the image of what he saw.
“I was working underground when the blast happened. We thought they were blasting or something. I was called, and when I went there, people were commiserating with me, at this point I did not know what had happened. Someone then said now that the relative is here, we can begin looking for his flesh, that is how I knew that Munashe had died.
“We covered his remains with tree leaves, as we had been told not to touch anything until the police arrived,” said Mulamba.
In mining practice, what befell Amon should have been enough to get the mine shutdown.
Mr Jairos Amon and Maria Muswati, parents to Munashe Amon who died in the first blast say they are hoping the mine will give a payout to allow them to recover from costs
Mr Simon Faindani, the mine manager recommended that the mine closes as they establish what had happened, this was the same recommendation which was given by the Mines and Mining Development officials when they visited the mine on the day of the first blast.
“In my 37 years in mining, I have never heard of a situation where an oxygen gas has exploded. So we decided to stop operations as we could not make sense of the incident,” Mr Faindani said.
The oxygen gas is used to cut metals during the nickel smelting process.
Unbeknown to Mr Faindani and the Mine’s Safety, Health, Environment and quality manager Mr Elias Dzangwe, six mine workers of Chinese origin, including the general manager and the engineer snuck into the mine and started working.
“We closed the mine on October 6, oxygen gas is used a lot in the processes and it was not safe for us to continue without a proper report on what had caused the first explosion,” he said.
It was to their surprise that towards day-end on October 7, they heard an ominous sound, similar to the one whose consequences they were at that point, trying to grapple with.
Their offices, from which they heard the sound, are about one kilometre away from the nickel mine.
“We were about to have a staff meeting here (at the office site) when we heard a loud sound. We rushed there, only to find people gathered by the gate, saying there are people who have been burnt in an explosion.
“The cylinders, which had caused the first accident had exploded again” said Mr Faindani.
He said the families of the deceased will be given assistance.
“We gave families US$1 200 for the funeral and we are in the process of sending papers to NSSA so that they are compensated.
“As for monetary pay-outs, the quantum will be determined by the mine owners, but the families will be given something,” added Mr Faindani.
The Ministry of Mines and Mining Development is currently investigating the oxygen gas cylinders and the mine’s safety protocols.
A source confided to The Sunday Mail on how the second blast could have been avoided.
“When the first blast happened, the engineer argued that Amon had failed to handle the cylinder properly.
“They did not want to accept that there could be something wrong with their equipment,” said the source.
The mine, which was recently reopened for exploration after the first attempt in 2017-2018, is trying to find its footing.
“The ore was at a stage where it was about to spill. Stopping operations meant there were going to be wastages.
“The general manager and the engineer thought locals were being lazy, and decided to go alone.
“They brought four Chinese general hands and convinced two local workers, one who had been recruited in Guruve and Victor Mufakose, whose homestead is a stone’s throw away from the mine,” said the source.
One of the working contingent on the day, Mr Victor Mufakose, escaped death by a whisker when a phone call saved his life.
When The Sunday Mail visited the Mufakose homestead, Victor had gone to work at the company’s office to process some papers, but his father Mr Victor Mufakose (senior) narrated how he was almost caught up in the crossfire.
“After the blast, everyone who works at the mine was sent home.
“I told my son not to go to work, as it was risky and it had been cordoned off by the police,” he said.
His wisdom was ignored.
“We went to Amon’s funeral and when we returned, my son was not here. I tried calling him and he was not picking.
“That is when we heard another blast. I rushed there, worried that my son may have been caught up,” he said.
He found his son by the mine gate, calling for help as one of the Chinese workers was heavily injured, but still alive.
“It could have been Victor, but I am told at the time he was called to hold a device called a flag near the mouth of the furnace, he received a phone call and walked away to answer it.
“That is how he survived, otherwise it would have been a different story,” said Mr Mufakose (Snr).
There are questions which still linger among the mine workers and the community, some of which include:
Will the mine take care of the families left behind? Would the second blast have happened if the directive to close had been adhered to? Was it proper oxygen gas in those cylinders?
Answers to all these questions are part of the speculation in Lowdale, a community that heard the loudness of death on October 6 and 7.
