BY NUNURAI JENA/ HARRIET CHIKANDIWA
SOME villagers in Chikuti from Makonde in Mashonaland West recently lost cattle after they drank hydrogen cyanide contaminated water from Angwa River following a spill from a nearby Chinese Detroop mine.
In Mashonaland Central, the miner Ming Chang Sino Africa has been given a seven day ultimatum to decontaminate areas of Saimona village in Bindura, which were affected by the cyanide discharge resulting from its mining operations.
In a letter addressed to Ming Chang Sino Africa dated February 28 the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) accused the company of flouting the Environmental Management Act.
“We are advised that sometime in December 2021, you dumped cyanide into the slime dam and there was an overflow of the cyanide which then contaminated Saimona villagers’ fields and underground water sources.
“As a result, two wells in Saimona village are now disused due to the cyanide contamination,” the ZLHR wrote.
“It is our considered view that your actions constitute a breach of our clients’ right to a safe and healthy environment as provided in terms of section 73 of the constitution of Zimbabwe.
“We hold instructions to approach the High Court on an urgent basis for an order barring you from conducting your mining activities at your mine in Saimona Village unless you have addressed our clients’ concerns.”
Meanwhile, reports from Mashonaland West indicate that cyanide from the Detroop gold mine operations was swept into the Angwa River killing fish, crocodiles and cattle.
Simbanashe Svosve who lost two beasts said problems of water contamination from the Chinese mining operations dated a few years back, with the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) accused of failing to act despite several reports.
“We have been telling EMA people to come and stop the Chinese from contaminating our water sources, but they did not do anything until now when our cattle are dying,” Svosve said.
EMA provincial spokesperson Munyaradzi Nhariswa confirmed the incident, and said preliminary investigations showed that the mine was not complying with EMA regulations.
“We went on the ground and did some water tests that showed the water was contaminated and killed a lot of fish, aquar species and some few cattle. We also discovered that the mines operating nearby (Morroco 7 and Take 25 mines) belonging to locals also do not have the required environmental impact assessment certificates,” said Nhariswa
Nhariswa said they had since closed the mines until they satisfied EMA regulations.
“We have since closed the mines to give them time to comply with EMA regulations,” he said.
Detroop mine manager a Mr Brento refused to comment, referred this reporter to EMA.
Zimbabwe is witnessing growing conflicts between Chinese mining companies and indigenous communities, some of whom are being evicted from their ancestral lands to pave way for mining operations.