Zimbabwe’s mining industry has recorded a significant improvement in safety performance in 2025, with new data pointing to a sharp 25% decline in fatal accidents across the sector, Mining Zimbabwe can report.
By Ryan Chigoche
The findings are significant as they come at a time when mining companies across the country are intensifying their push toward a zero-harm working environment.
However, the latest findings also reveal that small-scale and illegal mining operations remain the dominant source of fatalities, highlighting an ongoing safety crisis at the lower end of the industry.
According to the Chamber of Mines’ 2025 State of the Mining Industry Survey, fatal accidents fell by 25% in the first ten months of the year. A total of 89 fatal incidents were reported between January and October, compared to 118 over the same period in 2024. This positive trend is mirrored in the number of deaths, which declined from 147 in 2024 to 112 in 2025—a 24% reduction.
Despite this progress, the underlying distribution of fatalities shows that the most hazardous conditions remain unchanged. Small-scale and illegal mining operations continue to account for the vast majority of accidents, contributing 88% of both fatal incidents and deaths, just as they did in 2024. Large-scale mines, by contrast, recorded only 11 fatal accidents, resulting in 13 deaths over the same period.
The causes of these incidents also follow a familiar pattern. Falls of ground (FoG) remain the leading cause of fatal accidents, responsible for 39% of deaths in 2025. Shaft-related incidents contributed 21%, while accidents involving falls from excavations accounted for 11%. Machinery-related accidents made up a further 10%. Combined, these four categories explain 81% of all fatal accidents reported this year, underscoring long-standing structural and operational vulnerabilities within the sector.
Industry stakeholders say the improvement in overall safety is partly a result of intensified safety interventions. Since early 2024, the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development has rolled out extensive safety, health and environmental awareness campaigns aimed particularly at artisanal and small-scale miners. These programmes are designed to address unsafe practices and promote more sustainable mining methods.
Complementing government efforts, the Chamber of Mines has continued implementing broad sector-wide initiatives such as mine rescue and first-aid competitions, along with ongoing Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) programmes. These initiatives aim to strengthen emergency preparedness and entrench a safety-first culture across mining operations.
However, with small-scale and illegal mines still accounting for the overwhelming majority of deaths, industry leaders warn that training and awareness alone will not be enough. They argue that the latest statistics highlight the need for deeper formalisation of informal mining, stronger compliance monitoring and increased investment in basic safety infrastructure.
As the industry reflects on the year’s progress, the 2025 data offers a mixed picture: while mining is becoming safer overall, Zimbabwe’s most vulnerable miners continue to face heightened risks—a challenge that remains at the centre of the country’s mining safety agenda.
