OVER 500 illegal miners have broken into the perimeter wire fence and forced their way into the mining area at Kasenseli gold mine in Mwinilunga looting undisclosed quantities of alluvial gold.
The illegal miners are reported to have come from a camp in the nearby bush called Kabanda B nicknamed after Kabanda Township in the district.
District commissioner Arnot Mapulanga confirmto ZANIS yesterday after he visited the area.
Mr Mapulanga observed that the illegal miners found it easy to gain entry into the mine area by simply unscrewing the joints in the wire fence.
He called on the contractor erecting the fence to reconsider the design by welding the joints as opposed to using bolts and nuts and also advised the contractor to immediately repair the fence to avoid a reoccurrence.
Mr Mapulanga warned that Government will not sit idle and allow criminality to continue at the Gold mine adding that stern action will be taken against anyone found wanting.
He said the gold at Kasenseli is a national resource from which social amenities such as roads, hospitals and schools can be built to benefit majority citizens as opposed to a few selfish individuals.
Meanwhile, Panorama Security Manager Operations, William Mwale called for reinforcement of manpower and crowd dispersing tools such as tear smoke and dog handlers from Zambia police.
He said the illegal miners seem to be aware that police are not allowed to shoot at them hence they take advantage of this and fearlessly charge towards them.
When contacted for details of the incident, North Western Province Commissioner of Police Elias Chushi promised to issue a statement later.
Two weeks ago, illegal miners attempted to dismantle the wire fence to try and gain access to the mine site. – ZANIS.
THIEVES STEAL GOLD AT KASENSELI MINE
