64 die in mining-related accidents 

Source: 64 die in mining-related accidents – herald

Farirai Machivenyika

Senior Reporter

SIXTY-FOUR people died in the first quarter of the year in mining accidents in the artisanal and small-scale mining sector, Mines and Mining Development Minister Dr Polite Kambamura has said.

He revealed this while officially opening a training workshop for mine inspectors in Harare yesterday.

“Between January and March 2026, the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector alone recorded 64 fatalities — a 6 percent increase over the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Behind each of those numbers is a family broken, a community grieving and a question we are duty-bound to answer: could it have been prevented?”

He said of the deaths recorded, 54 percent resulted from ground collapses; 25 percent from the improper use of explosives and gases; 15 percent from falls into abandoned and unprotected shafts and 6 percent from electrocution and equipment-related incidents.

“These deaths are, in the overwhelming majority, preventable. They are not acts of God. They are the predictable consequence of unsafe practice and where there is unsafe practice, there must be a vigilant inspector. No ounce of gold, no tonne of coal and no carat of diamond is worth a human life,” he added.

The minister said the ministry was adopting the use of the latest technologies to aid the inspectors in their work.

“First, modernise or be overtaken. The mine of 2026 is not the mine of 2006. The Ministry is rolling out digital inspection platforms to replace paper logs, drone-assisted surveillance of high walls and tailings facilities and advanced geotechnical monitoring to anticipate fall-of-ground incidents.

“I challenge each inspector here to become fluent in these tools. 20th century methodologies cannot regulate 21st century mines. Engage the ASM sector with both rigour and compassion,” he added.

Dr Kambamura said the Ministry has trained over 500 artisanal miners in basic safety and environmental management under its extension programme.

He challenged the inspectors to do their work diligently without fear or favour.

“That work must intensify. Where you find ignorance, teach. Where you find chaos – riverbed mining, undermining of public infrastructure, operating without title – exercise the full statutory authority vested in you by the Mines and Minerals Act. Issue prohibition orders without hesitation.

“Guard your integrity as you would guard a mine shaft. An inspector who accepts a bribe to overlook a cracked tailings wall or a compromised ventilation system has signed a death warrant.

“Let me be unequivocal: corruption in the inspectorate will be treated as the blood crime that it is. In return, the Ministry will protect the honest inspector who faces political or corporate intimidation, and we are establishing confidential whistle-blowing channels to that end,” he said.

The minister reiterated that Government was committed to improving their working conditions and will take delivery of operational vehicles by the end of July.

“The ministry has tabled an emergency resource envelope of US$2 million to underwrite the National Safety Enforcement Blitz, and is engaging Treasury to ensure that a meaningful share of the revenue this sector generates is reinvested in the modernisation of the inspectorate. You will not be asked to enforce 21st century standards without 21st century tools,” he said.