The Sunday News
Sione Amidu, Sunday News Reporter
VUMBACHIKWE Mine in Gwanda has started the construction of a tailings dump site estimated to cost US$4 million.
The project manager, Mr Tawana Malikongwa, said the dump site that has been used since 2019 which was used to store waste from the concentrate dump plant and run of mine (ROM) operations was almost full.
“Due to this reason we then planned to construct another tailings dump site which will store the run of mine (ROM) tailings for the next 21 years. The new tailings storage facility is within the mining area just almost two kilometres southwest from the main shaft. Most of the materials were imported from Egypt,” said Mr Malikongwa.
Speaking during a tour of the site last week, Mr Malikongwa added that the setup of the project was similar to the water treatment plant that removes particles from the water, making it clean.
“In terms of progress we have covered 40 percent of the drain liners then in terms of pipe laying we have covered about 20 percent. Our plan is to start with drains right round, then we line the return water pond”, he added.
Mr Allan Mashingaidze who is the Mining and Exploration Executive for Duration Gold said the mine had a good relationship with the local community.
“As the authorities we have a community around us, the high and low density areas which house employees. We employ over 1000 people. Because of the community we have a primary school (Sabiwa primary) at the mine complex. We particularly help the school with classroom furniture, maintenance, solar and we have built a lot of classroom blocks to ensure the quality of the education.
“We have a good relationship with a community called the Sheet farm which is a few kilometers north where we got some of the sand we used for this project. As a thank you to the community we put up a fence around their paddocks at a cost of US$35 000 and one of these days we will have a ribbon ceremony celebrating that commitment,” he added.
The environmental quality technician, Mr Samson Nyimai said the tailings storage facility will preserve the environment as well as animals.
“This is a landmark development in terms of pollution containment being implemented by Vumbachikwe Mine. The facility is a result of the need to protect the environment. It was born out of statutory instrument 6 of 2007 which explicitly states that five years from the date of issue which is from 2007 all waste dumps must be lined with materials which is approved by the agency. The dumps must be lined with plastic,” he said.
