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Mozambique: Miners in Zambezia On Strike
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Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique (Maputo)
21 February 2008
Posted to the web 21 February 2008
Maputo
Pegmatite mines at Muiane, in the central Mozambican province of Zambezia, have been silent for the past ten days because their workers have gone on strike, demanding compensation supposedly owing from the days, well over a decade ago, when the mines were in the hands of state-owned companies.
Today three private companies, Euroexport, Tan Mining and Drusa, operate the mines. According to a report in Thursday's issue of the independent newsheet "Mediafax", these companies say they have no responsibility for the compensation demanded by the workers. When they signed contracts for the mining concessions these contained no clauses concerning payments for those who had once worked for the state company.
The three companies have sought intervention from the Zambezia provincial government, but have not yet received a reply. The provincial director of labour, Januario Soca, confirmed to "Mediafax" that the mines, located in Gile district, were currently paralysed - but he could give no further details, since he was awaiting a report from a tram sent to investigate the problem "detail by detail".
He said that some of the workers at Muiane had once been employed by the state-owned hydrocarbon company, ENH, while others had been employees of firms that provided services to another state mining company.
But by no means all the workers at Muiane fell into these categories. "We know there are people who never worked for ENH, and today they're taking advantage of the situation", said Soca. "Our team is there checking the situation of each one of them".
As for their demands, meeting them would depend on what is contained in the contracts. "Only after analyzing the contracts can we know who is right or who has not complied with their obligations", said Soca.
The problem has been festering for some time. There was a revolt among the miners last November, which only ended when the provincial authorities said that the question of compensation would be solved within three months.
The current disturbances turned violent when one Euroexport manager was attacked at his home, tied up and beaten. The other managers and administrative staff of the companies have abandoned Muiane, fled over the provincial border, and are currently in Nampula city (which is nearer the mines than the Zambezia provincial capital, Quelimane). The local police do not have enough men in Muiane to maintain order.
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Pegmatite is an igneous rock. The pegmatites of Muiane are of interest to mining companies, because they contain tantalite, the main ore of the rare metal tantalum, used in alloys for strength and higher melting points, in surgical steel, and in electronic capacitators. It is believed that Mozambique may have the largest reserves of tantalite in the world.
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| Copyright © 2008 Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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