MANICALAND-BASED gold mine, Better Brands Mining has suspended surface and underground mining operations with immediate effect over fatalities and environmental degradation concerns.
The company, which has a gold operation in Penalonga, has advised that it will use the suspension period to restructure and rehabilitate the mining field before resumption of operations.
This is according to a correspondence co-signed by the company’s general manager Cuthbert Chitima and the mine manager, a Mr A Guyo dated January 20, 2023, which was seen by this publication.
“Better Brands Mining (BBM) hereby advises its valued stakeholders that all surface mining operations shall be suspended with immediate effect; mainly due to concerns in the increased number of fatalities, environmental degradation and constrained access controls.
“Better Brands Mining shall take this opportunity to restructure and rehabilitate the mining field in preparation for resumption of surface and underground mining operations.
“We shall be advising on progress,” reads part of the correspondence.
Efforts to get a comment from Mr Chitima were unsuccessful as his mobile number would not go through until the time of going to print yesterday.
BBM falls under the small-scale mining industry, which contributes about 60 percent of Zimbabwe’s gold deliveries to Fidelity Gold Refiners, the country’s sole buyer of the yellow metal.
In 2022, the country produced a record 35,3 tonnes of yellow metal with the small-scale mining industry contributing over 25 tonnes.
Last year’s output outshines the previous record of 33,2 tonnes achieved in 2018 when the small-scale miners, just like the previous years, produced the bulk of the gold.
The mining industry is Zimbabwe’s major economic centrepiece to drive the country towards the envisaged upper-middle income economy status by 2030.
In 2019, the Second Republic launched the US$12 billion mining economy by 2023 from which the gold sub-sector is expected to contribute US$4 billion.
The US$12 billion milestone target is underpinned by the re-opening of closed mines, increasing mineral exploration activities and the opening of new mines to increase output.
The Second Republic targets at least 100 tonnes of bullion by 2030 as the country would have been transformed into an upper-middle income economy through transformative policies such as the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS 1).
The Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF), which represents the interest of small-scale miners, says it targets 80 tonnes of gold over the next two years and this is underpinned by transformative and supportive policies.
‘‘As small-scale miners, we are targeting 80 tonnes of gold over the next two years. We are optimistic that our projection is achievable on account of improved support that we continue to receive from the Government.
‘‘The gold mining sub-sector and the entire mining industry is receiving massive support from this current Government under President Mnangagwa,” he told The Sunday Mail in a recent interview.
NDS 1, which builds to Vision 2030 is a five-year economic development programme running between 2021 and 2025 after which it will be replaced by NDS 2, another five-year development policy. – The Herald
