Victor Maphosa — Artisanal and small-scale miners are being trained on safety, health and environmental awareness by the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development so they adopt sustainable and safe mining practices.
In Mashonaland East, the programme was carried out last week from February 19 to 23 by a team from the department of mining engineering led by provincial Inspector of Mines Mr Tamuka Mazenge.
The team visited several mining sites which included those in Goromonzi, Mutoko and Mudzi.
In an interview soon after addressing a large gathering of mine workers at Rwenya Fortune Mine in Mudzi last Friday, Mr Mazenge stressed the importance of the programme to miners as they carry out their day to day duties.
"We have been travelling across the province of Mashonaland East as from February 19 carrying out training and awareness campaigns where we are teaching small-scale miners on safety in mining operations.
"We taught them also on how to become a registered miner and how to mine safely. We trained them on how to operate under shafts and the equipment needed underground for them to be safe. For example, we warned them against destroying support pillars underground. Those pillars are important as they support the shafts and once they are destroyed, the shaft will collapse.
"Also, we highlighted on the use of explosives and who should be responsible for the proper use of these explosives. Again, we educated them about hazardous substances used in mining such as cyanide and mercury. So we taught them on the safe use of these substances," he said
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Miners needed first aid equipment on site to immediately assist those who would need urgent medication on site.
"This means the site will have trained first aiders for emergencies. Also we taught the miners to quickly report any emergencies at the site. This will ensure the inspector comes on the ground to investigate so that the same accident is avoided tomorrow."
A manager at Umbrella 77B mine in Mutoko Mr Duncan Natale commended the Government through the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development for the awareness campaigns.
"These trainings and awareness campaign programmes are important in this industry. We are to remain alert and committed to safe mining procedures so as to save our lives as well as keeping the environment safe.
"We will continue to implement all the recommendations and steps taught to us as we continue mining. So we thank Government for these programmes which we are benefiting from free of charge," he said.
Mr Rachmore Mandizvidza a mine manager at Kamungere Mining Syndicate in Mudzi also thanked officials from the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development for the programme.
"This has been helpful and will surely ensure safe mining practices at our mine."
A mine worker at Rwenya Fortune Mine in Mudzi Mr Gift Samunda said the lessons learnt are crucial in their operations as they are aimed at saving their lives through accident prevention.
"We will religiously follow everything that we learnt from these officials today. What is important is to work safely and take care of our families. So we are thankful to authorities for these lessons. We learnt a lot and we are happy that our authorities care for our wellbeing and safety."
