MUTARE- Metallon Gold Corporation has vowed to end unsafe mining
activities at Redwing Mine, Penhanlonga following a spate of unfortunate
occurrences involving artisanal miners on site.
This resolve comes hot on the heels of the miraculous rescue of 15 trapped gold
miners who were rescued three days after their mine shaft collapsed a fortnight
ago.
The incident is not peculiar to Redwing Mine as several miners lost their lives
in mine collapses underground in the previous year alone.
It is against this background that the company, which owns Redwing Mine,
Howe Mine and Mazowe Mine has pledged to re-establish formal mining
operations at Redwing Mine.
“Redwing Mine has historically operated as a formalised, large-scale mine.
When the mine was placed under corporate rescue in 2020 and under the
management of an administrator, artisanal mining was introduced on a wide
scale. In 2022, the Supreme Court effectively removed the mine from corporate
rescue.
“Since then, Metallon has been engaged in processes to restore formalised
mining. As part of these processes, Metallon is ending unsafe mining practices,
including all small-scale mining and returning these operations to the formalised
mining that Metallon has always conducted,” Metallon Gold said in a statement
last week.
Meanwhile President Emmerson Mnangagwa has ordered a thorough
investigation into the mining activities at Redwing Mine ordering the highest
degree of safety to be upheld in mining activities.
Acting President Constatino Chiwenga said President Mnangagwa had directed
a full investigation into the Redwing Mine disaster in order for the mining
sector to draw lessons from the incident.
“Going forward, His Excellency the President Dr Emmerson Mnangagwa who
keenly followed the rescue efforts throughout has directed the Ministry of
Mines and Mining Development to thoroughly and fully investigate the disaster
so Government can draw necessary lessons and adopt appropriate measures to
improve safety in the whole mining sector regardless of ownership and the
nature of mining activity, “said Acting President Chiwenga.
The mushrooming of artisanal and small scale mining activities at Redwing
Mine came during the period in which the mine was under corporate rescue
seeing to the signing of contracts between Redwing Mine and Prime Royal
Mining as well as Better Brands.
These contracts engaged over 1 000 artisanal and small scale miners at the mine
resulting in the uncontrollable mushrooming of the small scale and illegal
miners at the mining concession.
Information gathered by the Centre for Research and Development and
Penhalonga Youth Development Trust has shown that mining activities by
Prime Royal Mining and Better Brands had depleted surface and shaft pillars.
Further digging of gold in old shafts coupled with uncontrolled blasting has also
forced the ground to cave in.
As a result, several mine shafts have collapsed trapping miners underground
with most losing their lives in the process.
Meanwhile, the Centre for Natural Resource Governance, National Mine
Workers Union of Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe Diamond and Allied Minerals
Workers Union have demanded a thorough investigation into the incident.
