By SILUMESI MALUMO
IF Government wants to achieve recovery of gold on a high scale in Kasenseli and other areas, it needs to allow mechanised mining because the resource is not entirely found on the surface, the Small-Scale Miners Association of Zambia has said.
It’s president, Mr Kunda Chani said the majority of small-scale and artisanal miners the practices mostly involved panning to recover the gold from alluvial which cannot work effectively in recovering of the targeted 40, 000 kilogrammes of the resource.
Mr Chani said: “The combined exercise across by small-scale and artisanal miners if they are using traditional methods would be a bit challenging to attain the required target which is needed to be achieved annually.”
He said in an interview that Government must invite the corporate world so that gold mining licence holders can access financial support and machinery for mining gold.
This is the only way the small-scale and artisanal miners would up production because panning itself would not help to mine the required gold.
Mr Chani was responding to ZCCM-IH chief executive officer Mabvuto Chipata who said that Kasenseli gold area would be owned 100 percent by Zambians.
Mr Chipata indicated that ZCCM-IH had partnered with the gold licence holders and the chiefdoms to mine gold in the area.
He said ZCCM-IH was in hurry to ensure that 40, 000kg of gold which was a target annually was attained.
But Mr Chani emphasised that it was important that the small-scale and artisanal miners were equipped with the machinery so that they can be able to mine gold underground to ensure the 40, 000kg is attained.
Meanwhile Mr Chani said the 100 percent ownership of gold mining should not only be at Kasenseli but be rolled out to other gold areas.
He said Kasenseli should be a model which must be rolled out to all areas so that the gold mining can be done by Zambians.
Mr Chani also challenged hosting communities not to stop other interested parties who want to mine gold because the resource was for every Zambian.
Mechanised gold mining way to go – Chani
