Minister calls for Mazowe Mine re-opening
To reduce issues of illegal mining, gold smuggling and unemployment in Mazowe, it is of uttermost importance that the reopening of Mazowe Gold Mine is treated as a national priority, the Mashonaland Central Minister of State in the President’s office Senator Monica Mavhunga told President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Rudairo Mapuranga
The vast Mazowe gold fields have several mines, with the parent one being Mazowe Mine owned by Metallon Corporation Ltd.
Jumbo Mine, also in Mazoe, is currently under care and maintenance after Metallon Corporation was forced to close its mines in 2018 due to “unsustainable costs of running them without proper compensation for its proceeds from the government of Zimbabwe” the company claimed at the time.
The mine has 247 claims covering 2 939 hectares.
Speaking at the Johanne Masowe Vadzidzi Shrine in Goora yesterday Senator Mavhunga said the mining industry in Mashonaland Central has improved since President Mnangagwa became the head of state and government. He said that there have been developments like the reopening of Shamva Gold Mine and Eureka Gold Mine which are projected to become leading gold producers in the nation.
Senator Mavhunga said the re-opening of Mazowe Gold Mine was of importance because many illegal miners were dying while seeking a decent living.
“Your Excellency, Shamva Gold Mine was reopened, and Eureka Gold Mine was also reopened. In Bindura at Ashanti gold mine and Trojan, they are working. It is our wish Your Excellency that Mazowe gold mine is reopened because there are artisanal miners who are dying there while trying to look for a living,” she said.
According to the Senator Gold service centres, which the Government intends to establish across the country by mid-2022, will help plug suspected widespread smuggling of the precious mineral out of the country.
“Your Excellency, If gold centres are well funded, the problem of gold smuggling might be eradicated,” Mavhunga said.
Zimbabwe’s mining sector, especially the extraction of gold, has lately been characterised by illicit leakages of gold and it is believed the establishment of gold centres could help restrict obscure movement of the yellow metal. The gold sector carries a huge potential for the Zimbabwean economy with small-scale miners producing about 60 per cent of gold receipts which has necessitated consistent efforts to support their production.