Mazowe Mine, a subsidiary of METALLON Corporation, has encountered significant obstacles in its attempts to restart organized mining operations due to persistent resistance from illegal gold miners.
This defiance continues despite a recent government mandate to cease all unsafe mining activities.
Mazowe Mine was shut down in September 2018 owing to severe operational issues, including capital shortages. Along with its sister site, Shamva Mine, Mazowe Mine was placed under administration due to these financial and operational challenges.
METALLON Group, the largest gold mining company in Zimbabwe, owns How Mine, Shamva Mine, Mazowe Mine, and Redwing Mine.
The ongoing occupation by illegal miners contradicts the government’s push for safe and sustainable mining practices. Gold remains Zimbabwe’s top foreign currency earner.
In January, Mazowe Mine announced plans to restart underground shaft operations, which had been halted in 2019 after artisanal miners invaded the minefields.
This resumption is part of METALLON’s broader strategy to reinstate safer shaft mining and undertake extensive rehabilitation of mining areas. In March, the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development’s inspectorate department conducted a safety inspection of pit mining operations around Mazowe Mine, leading to the suspension of all unsafe mining practices in the area.
“The government order effectively halted all unsafe mining operations to pave the way for formal, regulated activities,” the company stated. “However, the resistance from some operators has hindered our efforts to rehabilitate the mining pits and commence large-scale, safer mining operations.”
The illegal mining activities at Mazowe have resulted in significant land degradation and, in some instances, loss of lives due to the collapse of shafts caused by unsafe artisanal mining methods. METALLON emphasized that the initiative to restore underground mining operations aligns with the government’s call for safe and sustainable mining practices and investment in the mining sector.
Last year, President Emmerson Mnangagwa launched the Responsible Mining Initiative, aimed at combating illegal mining operations nationwide.
The President has declared that the government will not tolerate any form of non-compliance in the mining sector and has initiated a mines audit to support the objectives of the Responsible Mining Initiative.
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“Mazowe Mine is committed to working with all stakeholders to achieve the following goals: ending unsafe pit mining operations, transitioning to secure shaft mining to prevent loss of life and protect local communities and the environment, and resuming large-scale underground shaft operations in line with the national goal for responsible and safe mining practices,” the company stated.
Zimbabwe’s mining industry has historically been plagued by illegal operations that have cost the country millions of dollars and caused environmental damage. The mining sector is a critical pillar of Zimbabwe’s economy, essential to achieving the country’s goal of becoming an upper-middle-income society by 2030.
Gold is the leading contributor to export revenue, with platinum in second place. Mining, in general, accounts for over 75% of the country’s export earnings.
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