Artisanal small-scale mining: Potential ecological disaster in Mzingwane District, Zimbabwe

Abstract

Artisanal small-scale mining (ASM) has devastating impacts on the environment, such as deforestation, over-stripping of overburden, burning of bushes and use of harmful chemicals like mercury. These environmental impacts are a result of destructive mining, wasteful mineral extraction and processing practices and techniques used by the artisanal small-scale miners. This paper explores the ecological problems caused by ASM in Mzingwane District, Zimbabwe. It seeks to determine the nature and extent to which the environment has been damaged by the ASM from a community perspective. Interviews, questionnaires and observations were used to collect qualitative data. Results indicated that the nature of the mining activities undertaken by unskilled and under-equipped gold panners in Mzingwane District is characterised by massive stripping of overburden and burning of bushes, leading to destruction of large tracts of land and river systems and general ecosystem disturbance. The research concluded that ASM in Mzingwane District is an ecological time bomb, stressing the need for appropriate modifications of the legal and institutional frameworks for promoting sustainable use of natural resources and mining development in Zimbabwe. Government, through the Ministry of Small Scale and Medium Enterprises, need to regularise and formalise all gold mining activities through licensing, giving permanent claims and operating permits to panners in order to recoup some of the added costs in the form of taxes. At the local level, the Mzingwane Rural District Council (MRDC) together with the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) need to design appropriate environmental education and awareness programmes targeting the local community and gold panners.

The impact of artisanal mining on rehabilitation efforts of abandoned mine shafts in Sutherland goldfield, South Africa

“…Generally, there is no universal definition of ‘artisanal mining’ (Phiri et al 2015). According to Hilson (2002), artisanal mining refers to informal and formal activities that are carried out using low technology or minimal machinery.…”

Relative impacts of methylammonium lead triiodide perovskite solar cells based on life cycle assessment

“…The results showed the predominant impact of back contact for mineral and fossil depletion, human toxicity non-cancer and ecotoxicity. Back contact was made of gold, whose extraction procedure releases many toxic chemicals to the environment (cyanide and mercury, among others) and consumes many natural resources [57][58][59]. In scenario 3, the impact reductions were significant as a consequence of its reuse and recycling.…”

Artisanal Gold Mining and Farming: Livelihood Linkages and Labour Dynamics after Land Reforms in Zimbabwe

“…Such narrow accounts have occasionally triggered new calls for fundamentally rethinking the nature of mining/farming linkages in African contexts, with much critical research focused in West Africa, in some cases pointing to significant ASGM-generated funds complementing and supporting investment into smallholder farming (Hilson, 2016;Bryceson & Jønsson 2009;Banchrigah & Hilson 2010 ;Maconachie, 2011;Maconachie & Hilson, 2011;Cartier & Bürge, 2011;Pijpers, 2014;Van Bockstael, Bockstael, & Vlassenroot, 2012). Some studies have given prominence to recent conflicts between farmers and miners or long histories of miner-farmer contestations (Musemwa, 2009), although in many places across rural Zimbabwe the two activities are increasingly intertwined, despite the well-documented environmental destruction and land degradation associated with ASGM (Ncube-Phiri, Mucherera, & Ncube, 2015).…”