Like many young unemployed young people, 25-year-old James Bhunu from Tsvingwe suburb has joined the craze.
“I only want to survive and fend for my family. I’m here because of hunger, because there is no food for my family,” he said. Bhunu is one of many “gwejas” (Illegal gold panners) and he said that in a “lucky” week, he could make more than $500 from selling gold.
Community relief
The discovery of rich ore deposits in Penhalonga is bringing relief to the poor local community where most of the people are unemployed and rely on farming.
“There are many teenagers doing this. If you come in the evening, you’ll see the sheer number of people mining here who come back to their camps in the mountains,” said Timothy Mutungagore, a community leader in Tsvingwe suburb.
Saungweme Mountains and Mutare River have been besieged by the illegal panners.
“Before, there was a lot of gold and few people knew about it, because there was food and people didn’t care about gold. Now, because there is hunger and unemployment, people come from all over the country to mine,” said Mutungagore.
Children have even traded their books for a pick and shovel in the hope of finding a golden ticket to lift them out of poverty.
However, the illegal gold panning has had some tragic consequences. This year eight illegal gold panners died after being trapped in the shafts. Police in Manicaland confirmed the deaths.
Mining consequences
In March this year, six illegal gold panners were trapped after a mine tunnel they were working in collapsed and buried them alive in the Saungweme Mountain area. Six other illegal panners who were in the same shaft managed to escape.
The survivors were rescued by a Redwing Mine’s emergency team and the bodies of those who died were also retrieved.
Last week another illegal gold panner, Kingston Chikuni (22), was trapped in a 10m deep shaft along the Mutare River where he was illegally mining gold.
Licenses for locals
“As police, we continue to advise people to desist from illegal gold mining as it is very dangerous,” said the Manicaland police spokesperson, Assistant Inspector Luxson Chananda. “People should not risk their lives and we will continue to arrest those involved in illegal activities.” However, the community’s hopes rest on a mining law hoping to attract investment and development.
“What we need are international investors to come in and mine for gold so the community can benefit,” said Chief Mutasa.

“We need the government to offer licenses to locals to do proper mining. This will provide jobs and some basic services.” 
According to police, an estimated 400 illegal gold panners are refusing to vacate Mutare River banks and Saungweme Mountain in Penhalonga. The panners have compromised the safety of the river by digging deep trenches and causing massive soil erosion.
Although Chananda did not have the actual numbers of those arrested, police details of who was part of the operation confirmed the arrests.
Villagers living in the vicinity also confirmed the arrests saying the illegal panners were causing serious social problems in the area such as drug abuse and violence.
Post published in: News