The Sunday News
Michael Magoronga, Midlands Correspondent
THE Environmental Management Agency (Ema) has embarked on a campaign that will see the environment watchdog engaging artisanal and small-scale gold miners in a bid to reduce the use of mercury in the mining sector.
Small-scale and artisanal miners face the biggest risk of being affected by the poisonous chemical as they use it almost on a daily basis to process gold.
Mercury can affect the nervous system, brain as well as the reproduction system if inhaled.
Ema Midlands provincial environment education and publicity officer Mr Oswald Ndlovu said they have embarked on a campaign targeting mostly small-scale miners in a bid to reduce the use of the chemical.
“We have embarked on an awareness campaign that will take us across the province. We are targeting areas like Kwekwe, Shurugwi, Zvishavane, Silobela and Zhombe among other areas where artisanal mining is rampant,” said Mr Ndlovu.
“We are targeting mines as well as other people who use mercury so that they are aware of the effects of using mercury so that they are not negatively affected by mercury.”
The Minamata Convention of October 2013 of which Zimbabwe is a signatory advocates for all new mercury mines to be banned as well as regulating the informal sector of artisanal and small-scale miners to address interim storage of mercury and its disposal.
Zimbabwe came up with a National Action Plan in a bid to reduce and where feasible, eliminate the use of mercury in the small-scale mining sector.
A research was conducted which revealed that there were considerable mercury emissions largely through open burning of amalgam during gold processing and have been gradually increasing since 2012.
The survey also established that there was a need to raise awareness on the dangers and proper use of mercury and to address myths that endanger the miners and mining community health care systems.
Mr Ndlovu said the outreach was part of the national plan that seeks to reduce mercury use in the artisanal and small-scale sector by 20 percent by 2021.
“We have a number of programmes lined up as we seek to reduce the use of mercury if possible, eliminate its use. We need to develop and promote the safe handling and long-term storage of excess mercury coming from the small-scale sector,” he said.
The Government is in the process of normalising small-scale miners who are the biggest supplier of gold to Fidelity Printers and Refiners.
Their formalisation will enhance corporation and partnership between the Government and the miners and other stakeholders as they seek to fight the mercury usage.
