Coal mines put lives of Hwange villagers,
Skefa Tembo appears dejected and lost as he inspects his maize field that is enveloped by a cloud of coal dust with prospects of a decent harvest vanishing for yet another season.
Tembo (67) and his family from Madumabisa village on the outskirts of Hwange town, Matabeleland North, have relied on subsistence farming for generations for survival, but newly established coal mines in the area are increasingly threatening their livelihoods.
“For the past few seasons, farming here has been very difficult because of coal dust coming from the mine,” Tembo said. His fields are a few metres from emerging Chinese-owned coal mining giant South Mining’s operations.
An investigation by The Standard in partnership with Information Development Trust, a nonprofit organisation supporting investigative journalism in Zimbabwe and southern Africa, revealed that the Madumabisa community is suffering the brunt of the worsening pollution due to the rapidly expanding coal mining activities.
Tembo’s homestead is located close to South Mining Company’s coke production facility that was set up outside Hwange in 2008.
The company’s main activities are coal mining and production of metallurgical coke and its byproducts that are sold in markets that include Zimbabwe, Zambia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Botswana and South Africa.
South Mining, which has its headquarters in Harare, has two operations in Madumabisa and Chaba with an output of 100 000 and 200 000 tonnes per annum respectively.
Tembo said he has tried to engage South Mining for the past three years over the pollution, including advising them to dig a trench that will divert waste from their plant away from his fields, without success.
“The trench was dug, but it was never maintained and that meant the pollution continued unabated,” he said.
“The heat from their small ovens affects our crops and the vegetation around this area.”
Tembo’s household is among about 50 families in the dry Madumabisa area, who say their farming activities have been disrupted by South Mining’s coal mining operations.
Agriculture in the semi-arid areas was already a difficult undertaking before the complications caused by coal mining as farmers battled frequent droughts, extreme heat, low rainfall, bared and marginal soils.
The increased mining activities in the past five years in the coal- rich, but dry Hwange district has negatively affected the lives of many in communities such as Madumabisa as it pollutes the environment, including water sources.
Coal is one of the minerals earmarked for rapid exploitation by President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration as he targets a US$12 billion mining industry by end of this year, but various studies have shown that it is coming at a heavy cost to communities around Hwange.
Chinese investors have been opening coal mines in the district since 2017 amid concerns that there is limited regulatory oversight to ensure the protection of the environment.
About 13 companies from the Asian country have opened coal mines in the Hwange area and they include South Mining, Hwange Coal Gasification Company, Dinson Colliery, Zimbabwe Zhongxin Coking Company, Mugatech Mine, Zhong Jian Coking Plant, Dinson Quary, Kamativi Mining Company, Sunrise Chilota, Zimfow Coal Washing, Elbas Lead Mine and Jin An Coking, among others.
Coal fines that get swept into the farmlands during the rainy season have increased the soil acidity and are making it difficult for communal farmers to engage in any agricultural activities, Tembo said.
Coal fines or coal dust are byproducts of the coal-mining processes that have a low market value, are generally expensive to dispose and usually left in stockpiles or slurry ponds at, or near processing mining sites.
According to agronomists, coal fines affect plants by either reducing yields or degrading the quality of agricultural products.
Where they are found in large quantities, cultivation of crops and rearing of livestock becomes difficult because they reduce nutrients in plants and inhibit digestion in animals.
Michael Montana, an environmental impact assessment expert who has previously advised some of the coal companies, said coal fines were a threat to plant life and have to be controlled from the source.
"Whenever there is rain, the coal dust affects the soil nutrients and this affects crop germination and growth,” Montana said.
“The crops will germinate, but they won't thrive as they suffer stunted growth.”
Catherine Kunda (75), also from Madumabisa, complained that South Mining never fulfilled its promises to help her set up a piped water scheme to do market gardening after her fields were polluted by coal fines from the mine three years ago.
Kunda said the company also drilled a borehole in her field without permission.
“They promised to set up a piped water scheme after their coal (fines) polluted my fields, but they have not fulfilled their promises,” she told The Standard.
Arabia Sibanda, a village head from Madumabisa, said his subjects needed protection from government agencies such as the Environmental Management Agency (EMA), which had the mandate to ensure coal mining companies played by the rules.
“I have on several occasions implored local EMA officials to come and do an audit on some of these companies because the pollution situation is getting out of hand,” Sibanda said.
“The quality of water in Deka River is not looking good even though I am not an expert on such issues, but this calls for urgent action from the authorities.”
Investigations revealed that communal farmers from the Zwabo and Mashala areas, also in Hwange, that rely on the Deka River for their livestock and household use have been heavily affected by the pollution of their main water source.
The pollution of the river, a tributary of Zambezi River, also has a heavy socio-economic impact on the communities as they used to enjoy fishing as a source of food and livelihood as they sold fish to get some income.
The Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG), a natural resource governance lobby group, said its work with Hwange communities had shown that Deka River has been polluted by hazardous discharges from coal mining activities, which are poorly regulated.
“Coal dust particles settle on green leafy vegetables, which are a source of food for most families in and around Ingagula and Makwikwa villages,” said CNRG, which has a pool of environmental experts assisting the affected