Maputo, 17 Nov (AIM) – The Mozambican Police (PRM) have detained five illegal miners in Vandúzi district, in the central province of Manica, following clashes between Mozambican and Zimbabwean miners.
According to Monday’s issue of the daily paper “O país”, the clashes took place on Friday in a gold mine known as “Six Cars.”
“It all began when a group of Zimbabweans attempted to forcibly mine the area occupied by Mozambican miners, who responded with violence”, sources said, cited by the paper.
The Mozambican State has already lost over 200 million meticais (about 3.1 million US dollars, at the current exchange rate) as a result of illegal mining in the central province of Zambezia this year.
Last September, the Mozambican Police (PRM) detained 17 individuals allegedly involved in illegal mining in Manica. Since January, at least 20 people have died in artisanal mine collapses in Manica, linked to illegal mining.
This operation is taking place at a time when the General Inspectorate of Mineral Resources and Energy (IGREME) has decided to temporarily suspend mining in Manica, following denunciations from the local population, who have been complaining about environmental pollution, notably contamination of the rivers, caused by artisanal mining.
The pollution is affecting, for example, important sources of drinking water such as the Revue river and the Chicamba reservoir, causing serious public health problems.
(AIM)
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