MINE operators have been ordered to adhere to safety procedures to avoid accidents and loss of lives. The Minister of State for Midlands Province, Larry Mavhima was at Globe and Phoenix mine in Kwekwe this Saturday following Wednesday’s accident which claimed two lives and left one person injured after a rock fell on them while they were underground.
After the tour this Saturday, Minister Mavima called on the mine owners to adhere to safety procedures.
“First of all, I want to dispel the misinformation that there were over twenty people trapped here in this mine. It is not 20 but 2 people, but still 2 lives is just too many, we have been having too many problems in as far as these illegal mining operations are concerned all over the country and it is time we put a stop to this. The way forward is to completely shut the mine until all safety measures required are implemented,” said Minister Mavhima.
The Inspector of Mines and Explosives in the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, William Chisangowerota noted some of the challenges in enforcing safety procedures when it comes to illegal miners.
“Most of the people who are entering these pits are illegal miners and there are too many entrants so we cannot control, we recommend that we sit together as the police and we see how we can stop them from entering underground because the underground is not very safe,” noted Chisangowerota.
The accident is said to have taken place about two hundred meters from the main entrance with engineers from the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development still trying to ascertain if there are trapped bodies underground.
