The Sunday Mail
Harmony Agere Recently in Manicaland
The disconnected sound of picks and hammers drowned out the rush of Mutare River as a group of illegal gold miners besieged the banks of the water body in the countryside of Penhalonga one Monday morning.
Their half-dressed and sweat drenched bodies could be seen labouring along the river from the feet of imposing Saungweme mountains before gradually vanishing into the thickets. The artisanal miners were scavenging for left-overs on reclaimed alluvial gold mines belonging to a Russian mining company, DTZ-OZGEO.
Sources say most of the illegal miners are former employees of DTZ-OZGEO who lost their jobs after alluvial mining along river beds was banned in the country.
As they worked in the fields their eyes were firmly fixed on rock piles but their attention was never detached from the threat of police and Environment Management Agency (EMA) officers who sometimes raid the place.
“This is what we do for survival and we will only stop if the mines give us jobs,” mumbled an unfazed Jabulani Chikukwa (33) while working in a pit by the riverside.
“We have to be attentive all the time because this area belongs to DTZ-OZGEO and they do not want us here because they are rehabilitating it, so they are always sending police and EMA on us.
“Our colleagues die and get injured from time to time while trying to flee during raids because if you get caught you go to jail for not less than two years.”
Jabulani and his fellow gold diggers are mindful of the hazards created by their activities as they use mercury to process the mineral but are not bothered.
The gold in the river has become scarce so they pour mercury directly into the water to trap and draw the precious mineral.
They have also setup traps right in the middle of the river using improvised washing shafts which environment experts, however, say speeds up siltation. As if the dangers of mercury are not in enough, illegal miners have dug deep pits along the river in search of gold thereby creating a hazard for humans and animals.
These activities have left human and wildlife exposed to health hazards as the mercury is reported to be accumulating to dangerous levels.
Fears are that the whole ecosystem sustained by the river has been contaminated by the heavy metal which is very difficult to eliminate once it enters the food chain and the ecosystem.
Mercury, a toxic chemical used in the processing of gold, is being smuggled into the country in large quantities and reports indicate that Zimbabwe uses at least 25 tonnes of mercury each year.
As it is ingested through drinking contaminated water and eating fish, the toxin can cause mental illnesses and deteriorating body organs over time.
EMA spokesperson, Mr Steady Kangata, acknowledged the environment degradation in Manicaland while also saying there is a possibility that Mutare River might be contaminated by mercury.
“Now that the issue has been raised to us we will definitely go to the lab to ascertain the water quality but most artisanal miners use mercury in their activities so there is a high chance that there is a certain level of contamination,” he said.
“It (mercury) is a danger to both human health and the environment because it is a heavy metal which is very difficult to get rid of once it enters the ecosystem and the food chain.
“It causes a disease which is called Minamata which causes mental illnesses, hair loss and other ailments. So we are working to have the handling of mercury be regularised.”
The illegal activities have also spelled doom for DTZ-OZGEO as the illegal miners are ripping up rehabilitated land meaning the company may be requested to rehabilitate the land all again.
“It is quite a challenge for us because these guys are ripping up the ground that we have rehabilitated as per EMA’s terms,” said Mr Dydimas Mapfumo, DTZ-OZGEO’s administration manager.
“We have tried to restore the natural habitat that existed before we started mining but some illegal miners have come – with heavy machinery sometimes – to scrap for gold on the rehabilitated land.
“Now, what is going to happen next I don’t know because we have done what EMA has asked so.”
The problem, however, does not look to avert any time soon as the illegal gold miners have vowed to continue with their activities as it is the only way they have to make a living.
Illegal miner Mr Washington Chinyama said although the business is no longer paying these days it was better than nothing.
“Sometimes you work the whole day and you can only manage to come up with three points of gold and that is only three dollars,” he said.
“It’s too little but it’s better than nothing. You rarely see people making more than five grammes a day.
“Our request is that authorities should allocate us our own claims so that we do this legally, it is never our wish to survive like vultures as we are doing now.
Illegal mining activities have negatively affected the growth of the mining industry as they have promoted smuggling. The Government has made incredible loses through smuggling as the money does not end up in the national purse.
About 12 tonnes of gold is reportedly smuggled out of the country every month with illegal miners playing a big role. Minister of Environment Water and Climate, Cde Opah Muchinguri, has warned illegal miners saying those who are doing the activities will be arrested and have their equipment confiscated by Government.
