Flooding hampers rescue operation for about 40 trapped Zim miners

Hopes are fading fast for 40 informal gold miners trapped in a collapsed mine in Zimbabwe for more than 48 hours ago after rescue operations stalled due to seasonal flooding.

Desperate relatives have been holding vigil near the mine in Bindura, north of the capital, Harare, awaiting news of their loved ones.

Wellington Takavarasha, the head of Zimbabwe Miners Federation, which represents small scale miners in the country, told Al Jazeera the mine was still flooded, but held out hope for the trapped miners.

“Nothing much has changed on the ground. We are currently dewatering the mine because it is flooded so that rescue operations can resume. The ground is too wet right now and that makes rescue operations dangerous.”

“This is an underground mine so I think the miners could have sought safety in any one of the tunnels. But the mine is flooded,” he said.

So far, only six miners have been rescued from the debris and are recovering at a hospital.

Just last week, 10 illegal gold miners were buried alive at Premier Estate, located in the eastern part of the country, when the owners of the mine commenced reclamation – a process of restoring mined land to a natural or economically usable state.

Dangerous artisanal mining

The Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG) director, Farai Maguwu, said mine collapses are frequent because artisanal mining is now a year-round occupation for many Zimbabweans.

“Big mines have been scaling down over the years. When they stop producing, syndicates linked to politicians invade these mines and they don’t adhere to sound safety measures when mining.”

Miners who are part of small-scale operations are said to work in unauthorized settings to avoid selling their gold to a state-owned buyer and receiving a reduced amount of foreign currency.

Maguwu said the government’s failure to revive the economy has pushed Zimbabweans into artisanal mining. “In this season, we should be seeing less and less artisanal mining. Instead, people should be working the fields as the ground is wet and risky to mine.”

According to the Zimbabwe Miners Federation, about 50,000 small-scale miners are registered in the country, each employing at least 10 workers.

The federation says small-scale and artisanal mining sector in Zimbabwe benefits more than 1.5 million people.

The landlocked southern African country sits on vast gold and mineral endowment, including diamonds and platinum, with gold accounting for 60% of the country’s exports.

Worsening economic crisis

Zimbabwe is in the throes of a deepening economic crisis characterised by high inflation at close to 500 percent, foreign currency shortages, a devastating mix of a rapidly weakening currency, and stagnant salaries and high unemployment.

In December last year, the World Food Programme warned the country was facing its worst hunger crisis in 10 years, with half of its population – 7.7 million people – being food insecure.