SUSWE, MUDZI DISTRICT, MASHONALAND EAST — The dust from passing trucks hangs over the unpaved road as we walk through Mkoko Village, a community neighbouring Machipisa Village, where Benson Mine is extracting lithium, Mining Zimbabwe can report.
By Rudairo Mapuranga
Tanatswa Mudzudza points towards the mining operation with a mixture of resignation and frustration.
“This is where I used to work,” he says.
For about two months, Mudzudza was employed at Benson Mine. Like many young people in the surrounding communities, he saw the job as an opportunity to earn an income, support his family and begin building a more secure future.
Then the mine stopped operations for what workers were told was maintenance.
When operations resumed, Mudzudza and some of the workers who had been employed during that period were not called back.
For Mudzudza, the brief opportunity has become a reminder of how close the benefits of Zimbabwe’s lithium boom can appear while remaining out of reach for communities living alongside mining operations.
Back in Mkoko Village, Mudzudza’s responsibilities extend beyond finding work.
His grandfather is blind, while his grandmother is elderly, leaving him with significant responsibilities at home.
He had hoped employment at the mine would allow him to support his family while investing in livestock and other agricultural activities.
“I desire at least to be employed and be able to buy livestock and do other business in the agricultural space,” he says.
Instead, he remains unemployed while mining activity continues a short distance away.
“The pay that they were paying us, we believe, is not enough,” Mudzudza says. “When you compare with the resources that come out of the mine, we are getting nothing.”
His frustration is not simply about the loss of one job. It reflects a broader question facing communities surrounding Zimbabwe’s rapidly expanding lithium industry: how much of the economic opportunity created by mining reaches the people living closest to the deposits?
Zimbabwe has emerged as an important lithium producer as demand for minerals used in batteries and other clean-energy technologies grows globally.
But in Mkoko Village, the conversation is less about global demand and more about basic needs.
Residents point to the condition of the road, which becomes difficult to use during heavy rains, and the need for reliable water infrastructure.
Mudzudza says a borehole would make a significant difference to the community.
Residents have also raised concerns about the condition of water sources and the effects of mining activity on their surroundings. Such concerns require an independent environmental assessment to establish the extent and cause of any contamination.
For Mudzudza, however, the most immediate concern is employment.
“We wish that we benefit from the resources in our area,” he says. “For us to benefit, it’s for the mine to employ us so that we can be able to look after our old people.”
Beyond jobs
The concerns raised in Mkoko go beyond direct employment.
ActionAid Zimbabwe, which has documented concerns affecting communities around mining operations, argues that women and young people should have meaningful opportunities to benefit from mineral extraction through employment, local procurement, enterprise development and participation in decision-making.
The organisation has also advocated for stronger accountability where mining activities affect communities and livelihoods.
The argument is increasingly important as Zimbabwe seeks to position itself as a major supplier of critical minerals to the global energy transition.
For communities such as Mkoko, the question is whether the transition to a greener global economy can also produce better livelihoods for the people living around the mines.
Mining Zimbabwe sought comment from Benson Mine on the employment concerns raised by Mudzudza, as well as questions surrounding community development and the concerns raised by residents.
The mine’s assistant manager said he needed to consult the mine manager before providing a response. The mine manager had not responded to Mining Zimbabwe’s queries by the time of publication.
That leaves Mudzudza and other residents waiting for answers as mining continues in neighbouring Machipisa Village.
Standing near the mining area, he watches trucks move between the operation and the surrounding roads.
For a young man living next door to a mine extracting a mineral attracting international investment, his expectations are modest.
“I desire to at least be employed,” he says.
For Mudzudza, the lithium beneath the ground represents more than a commodity feeding the global energy transition. It represents a possibility of work, dignity and the ability to support the family members who depend on him.
The challenge for Zimbabwe is ensuring that possibility does not remain buried beneath the ground—or flow past the communities that live above it.
