NO to irresponsible mining
The Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA) has denounced irresponsible mining and lamented that such practices are placing human and animal lives at risk, creating irreparable damage to the environment.
By Shantel Chisango
ZELA shunned the practice of illegal mining on its Twitter page and encouraged responsible mining that complies with the law and protects the environment.
“Miners need to exercise environmental vigilance, which applies to the concerns of reckless investors. We say NO to the irreparable damage to our environment,” ZELA said.
Referring to Mazowe, where illegal mining has damaged the once majestic river, ZELA expressed dissatisfaction with the current state of the river and encouraged governments to ensure that whenever contracts are entered into, it clearly outlined what the country demands of the investor.
“We’re in Mazowe, checking out what our river has become.”
For decades, illicit mining has been ravaging the country and is not only riskier from a safety perspective, but it promotes risky conduct and leads to results that have long-term negative consequences.
With illegal mining, there is typically an absence of property rights, mining licenses, exploration or mineral transport permits, according to America’s Quarterly.
Without these licenses, there are no independent authorities to regulate mining operations and all the high-risk activities that come with them.
To minimize the possibility of damaging the environment and its people, the government needs to ensure that illegal mining is avoided by providing mining licenses to legalize all who practice illegal mining curbing the spur in illegal mining cases. Currently, formalisation is happening at a ridiculous pace with Mashonalandwest a mineral-rich province with an area of 57,441 km² being serviced by only two vehicles.
Zimbabwe seems reluctant to introduce sanitation to the artisanal small-scale mining sector, which makes a major contribution to gold production each year.