Residents of Valley of Kings, a quiet neighborhood on the outskirts of Mutare, are living in fear after a company allegedly set up over 100 cyanidation tanks to process gold ore without a licence, with tensions escalating to a dynamite attack on the community gate.
The alert was raised by Executive Director of the Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG), Farai Maguwu, who says the developments in the settlement located in the hills along the Mutare-Harare Highway, near Magamba campus, point to growing lawlessness in the mining sector.
According to Maguwu, a company identified as Bravolands Mining arrived in the area a few months ago and began installing the tanks on the far end of Valley of Kings. The tanks are reportedly meant to process gold ore from Penhalonga.
He claims that residents were informed that both the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development and the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) denied having granted Bravolands Mining either a mining or a mineral processing licence for Valley of Kings.
Most residents in the area rely on borehole water for domestic use. Fearing contamination from cyanide use, the community is said to have hired a private security company to protect the neighborhood.
The dispute prompted Penhalonga Police to call for a meeting last Tuesday between the residents’ committee, Mutasa Rural District Council (RDC) and Bravolands.
On the eve of that meeting, unidentified people allegedly blew up the Valley of Kings gate using dynamite and pulled down fences, Maguwu wrote.
Police CID officers from Mutare are reported to have visited the area following the incident.
Maguwu alleges that Bravolands, said to be owned by a politically connected individual, is continuing with its cyanidation activities at Valley of Kings and that no arrests have been made.
A few kilometres up the highway, he further claims, another company is blowing up Christmas Pass despite a ministerial cease and desist order issued in September.
Maguwu warned that the situation has reached an alarming level.
“This lawlessness has reached an alarming level and is now a threat to national security. The government must put its foot down and stop illegal mining activities to protect citizens,” he said.
“It is not right for bullies to go around disrupting neighborhoods and putting the lives of innocent citizens at risk whilst the government is watching. We must stop this before it is too late.”
ZiMining could not independently verify by the time of publishing whether Bravolands Mining holds a valid licence for the Valley of Kings site or whether arrests have been made in connection with the alleged gate bombing. Efforts to get comment from the Ministry of Mines, EMA and Zimbabwe Republic Police were ongoing.
The case adds to growing concerns over unregulated gold processing activities around residential areas in Manicaland, where Penhalonga and surrounding areas have seen a surge in artisanal and semi-industrial gold operations.
