Zimbabwe’s Mines and Mining Development Minister Winston Chitando promised The Herald that renewal of mining licenses “would be subject to miners’ sustainable mining practices that are environmentally friendly. According to Rough & Polished, Zimbabwe seeks to “stop environmental degradation.”
Chitando is quoted as saying: “It is imperative that every miner complies with the sustainable mining initiatives. Before you (miners) start mining, you should submit your site of works plan to the Mines Ministry and get an Environmental Impact Assessment certificate from the Environmental Management Agency (EMA). Once you start mining, make sure that you comply with the provisions of the environmental laws of the country. The level of environmental degradation taking place in some places is simply unacceptable.”
Recently, according to a report in IDEX Online, Zimbabwe pledged to establish new rules to crack down on gold smuggling, which is estimated to cost the country $1.5 billion a year. – Israeli Diamond