MIDLANDS provincial affairs minister Larry Mavima has accused miners in the province of environmental degradation by failing to reclaim their open pits.
Speaking at a Miners4ED conference held in Gweru early this week, Mavima said the miners failed to observe environmental regulations and left land heavily downgraded.
“If you move around Midlands, you will be disheartened to notice massive land degradation,” he said.
“There are a lot of pits from rampant mining activities which are not rehabilitated. Our mining should be done in a sustainable manner so that we leave a legacy for the future generation.”
Mavima said the miners had potential to grow, but needed to be responsible in the way they carried their operations.
“We have a lot of small to medium scale miners in the province who have potential to reach the levels of big companies like Mimosa, Unki among others,” he said.
“But to reach that level our miners should be disciplined in their mining operations knowing that land in the country should be safeguarded.”
He also implored miners, particularly youthful artisanal miners, to desist from drug and substance abuse.
Mining activities have been cited as one of the major contributors of land degradation in the province.
Chrome and gold miners, in particular, often cut trees for timbering their mines and to use gold detectors, damaging the environment in the process.