The Sunday Mail
The closure of C Mine, about 15km east of Mberengwa, brought despair and desperation to the gold-producing concern’s 200 workers.
Since the majority of the workers are of Malawian descent, they did not have anywhere to go.
After being deprived of their only source of livelihoods, the workers naturally panicked.
Some of them wandered the length and breadth of the country, scavenging for any available opportunity.
Mr Owen Tonga found himself forced by circumstances into artisanal gold mining.
To the 58 year-old, the mine closure, however, proved to be a blessing in disguise. Today, Mr Tonga, of Berea 20 Mine, just outside Mberengwa, is one of the country’s most successful small-scale gold miners.
Recently, hundreds of people gathered at Berea 20 Mine to witness the official commissioning of a headgear hoist; a modern mechanism used to efficiently transport workers and materials in and out of underground mine shafts.
When compared to hoists that are manually operated, a headgear hoist is faster, efficient and not labour intensive.
A headgear hoist takes only four minutes to bring gold ore to the surface from an 85m-deep shaft. A manual shaft can take up to 20 minutes to do the same.
The acquisition of a headgear hoist by a small-scale gold miner is a milestone, as the equipment can cost as much as US$120 000.
According to the Zimbabwe Miners’ Federation, only two small-scale miners have functional headgear hoists in the entire Midlands province.
From the current 37 workers, Mr Tonga will increase his workforce to 200 when the headgear is fully operational.
“Ours is a vertical shaft. The hoist can load up to a tonne of gold ore at a time. We are busy opening up new tunnels,” Mr Tonga said.
Berea 20 Mine is now producing 150 tonnes of gold ore per day, up from the 15 to 20 tonnes produced before installation of the headgear hoist.
On average, Mr Tonga extracts 16g of gold from a tonne of ore.
Mr Tonga expects to produce about a kilogramme of gold daily once the hoist is fully operational.
From the shaft, the gold ore is transported to the nearby stamp mill.
A shining example of how small-scale miners should conduct their businesses, the miner strictly adheres to occupational health and safety rules.
The mine is securely fenced and the workers always don protective clothing.
“We never borrowed money from anyone. Instead, we bought this equipment from the money that we realised from the mine itself. We made sure that the profits were ploughed back into the business in the form of machinery. I am happy to say that I don’t owe anyone any money,” beamed Mr Tonga.
The miner’s rise is a typical rags-to-riches story.
“After we were laid off, we had no choice but to go into illegal gold mining.
“I worked with my wife for two years before we responded to the Government’s call for people of Zimbabwe to take an active interest in mining.
“The shaft that we are currently operating was abandoned by the Germans during the Second World War,” Mr Tonga said.
Unlike flamboyant businesspeople who flaunt their riches, Mr Tonga remains down-to-earth.
His family still occupies the same house that it lived in before the change of fortunes.
“Mr Tonga still drives the battered pick-up truck he bought some two years ago.
Mr Marufu Sithole (36) of Shurugwi is another successful small-scale gold miner.
Starting off as an artisanal miner, Mr Marufu is now a successful miner and miller who has also diversified into crop production and aquaculture.
At least 200 families directly benefit from Mr Marufu’s mining operations, and artisanal miners in the area bring their gold ore for milling at his plant.
He has two mills that he bought for a combined US$50 000, and he also has two elution plants. Elution plants recover gold from cyanide leach.
Mr Marufu is a firm believer that mining can transform Zimbabwe’s economy.
“Apart from mining, we have also diversified into farming. Mining will surely arrest the liquidity crunch in the near future,” said Mr Marufu.
Last year, Mr Sithole harvested more than 25 tonnes of maize from seven hectares. The miner-cum-farmer will this season increase the hectarage to 10.
“It is high time we put Zim-Asset ideals into action. Action speaks louder than words,” Mr Marufu said.
Mr Desmond Mangisi, the Zimbabwe Miners’ Federation spokesman, called upon Government to help capacitate small-scale gold miners.
“The current liquidity crunch will be a thing of the past if small-scale gold miners are capacitated.
“If the Government could support the miners as it did the farmers, then we are home and dry,” Mr Mangisi said.
According to Mr Mangisi, 30 000 gold miners have so far been officially allocated mining claims. More than 300 000 artisanal miners are estimated to be mining gold across the country.
The Zimbabwe Miners’ Federation is an umbrella body which represents and regulates the conduct of small-scale miners as mandated by an Act of Parliament.
According to the Mines and Mining Development Ministry, small-scale miners contribute one-third of the country’s total gold output.
