ZIMCN Investments, a company widely believed to be linked to President Emmerson Mnangagwa's son, Collins, has been fined for breaching environmental regulations at its gold mining operation in Mashonaland East, the Zimbabwe Independent can reveal.
Last week, the Independent reported that villagers in Mudzi lost several cattle after allegedly drinking cyanide-contaminated water along the Nyamusanzara River in the gold-rich Makaha area, where ZimCN operates Radnor Mine.
Some countries have banned the use of cyanide in gold mining to protect the environment and human health from the toxic effects of the chemical.
According to state media reports, Collins Mnangagwa chairs the Radnor Mine board.
President Mnangagwa officially commissioned the multi-million dollar ZimCN plant in 2022.
The incident has reignited concerns about the environmental and health risks posed by mining operations to local communities.
An Environmental Management Agency (EMA) executive confirmed that ZimCN had been fined for environmental infractions.
“The source and type of contamination is yet to be established though it is suspected that it is coming from a nearby mine,” EMA spokesperson Amkela Sidange said.
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“The agency collected water samples from Nyamusanzara River for analysis at the EMA laboratory.
“The results from the water samples will then give a guide on the definite type of contamination and the source.
“However, EMA issued the nearby ZimCN mine with a ticket for conducting mining procedures likely to cause environmental pollution; and an environmental protection order to put pollution abatement measures.”
Sidange further noted that the company had been red-flagged for environmental transgressions linked to the livestock deaths.
Cyanide is a common chemical used in gold mining to dissolve and separate gold from ore through a process called cyanide leaching. However, it is highly toxic and can cause severe environmental damage if managed improperly. Last year, the government banned riverbed mining twice — first in August and again in December — to curb illegal mining activities that harm the environment.
“The agency is continuously calling on mining ventures with tailing dams to put in place necessary abatement measures to prevent contamination of the environment,” she said.
“This includes deepening and widening cut off trenches around the tailings dams so as to contain discharge of effluent into the environment.”
Pollution abatement measures are vital
in mining because the extraction process often generates significant environmental damage, including air and water pollution, land disturbance, and noise.
This can be harmful to human health, ecosystems and local communities.
Sources said a group of children, who swam in the contaminated river, were taken to Luisa Guidotti Hospital at All Souls Mission in Mutoko as a precautionary measure. Asked about the size of livestock that had died as a result of drinking contaminated water, Sidange referred questions to the veterinary department.
The authority, she added, was also not privy to information on whether the affected villagers were compensated.
“Kindly refer to the department of veterinary services as the best-placed expert department on livestock management to comment on the number and cause of death of the said livestock,” Sidange said.
“Compensation modalities are not under the purview of EMA hence (we are) not privy to the information on compensation of the cattle.”
An official at the Department of Veterinary Services in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Resettlement referred questions to the chief director at the institution, who had not responded at the time of going to press.
ZimCN general manager Collins Musarurwa requested questions in writing but had not responded to emailed queries by press time. The Independent sought clarity on whether the company had implemented pollution abatement measures as directed by EMA, the quantum of the fine imposed, and whether the penalty had been paid.
When the Independent broke the story last week, Musarurwa insisted that ZimCN was cooperating with authorities to determine the cause of the livestock deaths.
“ZimCN Investments is aware of the situation. We are working hard to determine the root cause of the livestock deaths. We cannot say that it was because of any chemicals. This is an ongoing process,” he said.
“We have called the environmental agency so that they get to look at everything. Like I said, we are doing the process continuously.
“Our mining set-up is according to the law. If someone says that it was cyanide, all we can tell them is that there are laboratories that will provide the conclusion,” Musarurwa said.
An affected villager, speaking anonymously, insisted the cattle deaths resulted from cyanide contamination.
“Our understanding is that the cattle died from drinking water contaminated with waste discharged by the mining firms, including ZimCN,” the source said.
A search at the Registrar of Companies failed to locate the Radnor Mine and ZimCN files.
