Eldorado Mine risks losing licence

GOVERNMENT has ordered directors at Eldorado Mine in Chinhoyi to resume operations or lose their mining licence.

Mines and Mining Development Deputy Minister Polite Kambamura, who visited the gold mine last week, said this would stop illegal mining activities at the mine.

More than 20 people have died at the dysfunctional mine in the past few months and Deputy Minister Kambamura’s visit followed the death of two more illegal miners recently.

“This place has become a mass grave and we can’t continue sacrificing our people because of an investor who has no resources,” he said. “It’s about a year now with infrastructure lying idle.

“Last year in September, Minister Winston Chitando was here and had a meeting with the owners of this mine who promised to start operations on November 2, but still nothing has been done.”

Deputy Minister Kambamura expressed disappointed that there was still one pit that was open and illegal miners were using it to go underground when Government last year ordered the mine to be sealed off.

“Surprisingly, we have observed that there is one pit and an incline shaft which is still open that is being used by the illegal miners to go underground,” he said. “That is so saddening. After discovering the shaft which is still open we agreed with other stakeholders that the incline be closed. They have to seal it off, we are going to bring an excavator and close that shaft and fence it off.”

Government, he said, would evoke provisions of Section 400 of the Mines and Minerals Act, which gives the minister the right to cancel mining rights in circumstances that he believes the miner failed to operate within a reasonable period after beginning operations.

Government, in September last year, ordered the sealing of all access points to the mine following the death of 14 illegal miners after the collapse of Level 12 shaft the previous month. POLICE have warned farmers in resettlement areas to be wary of armed robbers targeting Government inputs under the Command Agriculture and Presidential Input Support Schemes.

In an interview last week, Mashonaland West police spokesperson Inspector Clemence Mabgweazara said there were some unscrupulous individuals moving around the farms robbing people of the inputs.

“We are encouraging farmers to be wary of these armed robbers because we are receiving reports from several farmers who were robbed of their valuables,” he said.

“We discovered that these culprits will be mainly targeting farming inputs. However, they will steal whatever attracts their attention.”

Insp Mabgweazara said on January 6 Mr Edwin Malunga (34) and his wife, Bibi Jusa (33), of Sam Levy Sunside Central Farm in Nyabira were robbed of their valuables worth $1 600 by three armed robbers who fired one gunshot in the air to frighten them.

The robbers reportedly dragged Mr Malunga outside his house before tying his hands and covering his wife with a blanket so that she could not see what they were doing.

“The three had iron bars that they threatened to kill the victims with if they made any noise and proceeded to steal some groceries in their tuckshop, the complainant’s cellphone, solar inverter (8 watts), solar panel, 800 watts speaker and $300 cash all valued at $1 600 before disappearing,” he said.

Insp Mabgweazara said the couple reported the matter at Nyabira Police Station and investigations were in progress.