Home Mining Top 5 Mining Headline Stories of the Week.

Top 5 Mining Headline Stories of the Week.

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1. A statement released by the How Mine management said 24 employees had tested positive to covid-19 and the Ministry of Health and Child Care had recommended the mine to temporarily lockdown from 6 August 2020.

According to the statement only medical emergencies will be allowed to leave the Mine premises in an effort to contain the virus and prevent further spread.

Hwange Colliery Company Limited, Unki and Fidelity Printers and Refiners also had employees testing positive for the virus. Source: Great Dyke News24.

2. A safe and responsible artisanal mining can be a vector for development and rapid post Covid-19 economic recovery for millions of men and women.

This was said by National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (Nango) Eastern Region Coordinator Joseph Kauzani during an online meeting organised by Green Governance Zimbabwe Trust (GGZT).

The meeting was meant to discuss the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on mining communities.

Zimbabwe’s mining sector currently contributes about 8 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and has set a target of generating US$12 billion by 2023 from as little as US$2,7 billion in 2017 Source: New Zimbabwe.com.

3. ZIMBABWE’S small-scale chrome miners are stuck with tonnes of ore which they are failing to sell to the international markets following the closure of borders due to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.

In its latest mining sector and communities situational report, the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (Zela) said small-scale chrome producers were facing challenges to access markets for their chrome.

“The Chinese are the main buyers of chrome in Zimbabwe. As a result of the pandemic, borders have been closed and no buyers have been able to buy the chrome. This has left chrome small-scale miners stuck with the ore which can be easily stolen by criminals in the sector,” read part of the report. Source: Zimbabwe Daily.

4. Over 1000 workers who have been employed in the country’s mining sector have lost their jobs since the beginning of the lockdown in March.

A lot of mines have either scaled down operations or have totally shut down due to operational challenges brought by the Covid-19 induced lockdown measures.

“To date, over 1000 employees have lost their jobs since the beginning of lockdown and we are still compiling our lists,” Justice Chinhema, general secretary of the Zimbabwe Diamond and Allied Minerals Workers Union (ZDAMWU) said in an interview.

Chinhema said more workers in the mining sector are also expected to lose their jobs in the coming months, as mines are either scaling down operations or closing entirely.Source: New Zimbabwe.com.

5. Mining giant Rio Tinto decided to destroy two 46,000-year-old Aboriginal rock shelters in order to access $135 million worth of iron ore that would not have been available under alternative mining plans avoiding the culturally significant site.

The nation’s second-largest miner has faced a storm of condemnation after legally destroying the ancient site in Western Australia’s Juukan Gorge, against the will of the land’s traditional owners, on the Sunday before National Reconciliation Week. Source:  Sydney Morning Herald 

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