THREE artisanal miners from Newlands in Zvimba district died on Friday when a mine shaft they were working gave in and collapsed.
The three were operating from an unregistered shaft under
one Mr Mapiki’s plot, some 10km from Chinhoyi towards Banket. Two of the bodies
were retrieved on Friday while the last one was retrieved on Sunday night.
Mines and Mining Development Deputy Minister, Polite
Kambamura confirmed the sad development, adding the death was unfortunate.
“As Government, we urged artisanal miners to exercise due
diligence in their operations to avoid loss of life as the nation seeks to
achieve a US$12 billion mining industry by 2023 in which the artisanal and
small scale miners are part of. They should also follow the right procedure
including registering the mines,” he said.
Another official from the Mines and Mining Development
Ministry provincial offices said in terms of mining titles, the area falls
within an Exclusive Prospecting Orders (EPO) application number 7of 2019 which
is pending processing before the Mining Affairs Board.
The Ministry has since ordered the farmer to close all
shafts and rehabilitate the whole area. Herald
0 comments:
Post a Comment