THE government says it will take stringent measures against mining companies that fail to comply with environmental and labour laws, ensuring that mining activities are conducted responsibly.
Several chrome and gold miners have recently faced charges for violating these laws.
In an interview with the Zimbabwe Independent, Mines and Mining Development minister Winston Chitando highlighted the government's commitment to enforcing compliance.
He said the government will shut down mining companies that are violating Zimbabwe’s laws.
“Government is taking a firm stance on non-compliance with the law. We cannot allow any mining operation to continue without adhering to legal requirements — we can’t, never. If necessary, we will halt non-compliant operations,” he said.
To enforce this, Chitando said the government has dispatched two audit teams to conduct comprehensive compliance audits across various mining sites over a two-month period.
“We dispatched two mining audit teams to selected sites across the country. Their mandate is to check compliance with the law and recommend areas for legislative enforcement or changes. The government will review these reports and develop action plans accordingly,” he said.
“At times people are tempted to think that the law, which applies to mining operations, is the Mines and Minerals Act. The totality of all the laws is applicable to mining operations beyond the Mines and Mineral Act.”
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According to the minister, the audit team is an inter-ministerial audit team, while the interim steering audit team is made up of various government departments which will be checking compliance from their different perspectives.
In 2023, lithium mine Bikita Minerals, owned by China’s Sinomine Resource Group, was ordered to suspend operations until it complied with legal provisions that included labour, environmental and immigration laws.
In 2019, the government launched an ambitious plan to transform the mining sector into a US$12 billion export industry by 2023. It is still working to reach that target.
Under the drive, the government expected that by 2030, the mining industry would be generating more than US$20 billion.
