Zambia’s curse of unsafe small-scale mining

By MUBANGA LUCHEMBE

ZAMBIA’S mineral wealth, particularly gold, which is readily smuggled to neighbouring nations, continues to fuel loss of lives amongst the wealth-seeking youths that has devastated the country and the lives of its citizens in general. What is more, the policymakers at the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development are unable to quickly find lasting solutions to unsafe mining operations in different mining provinces to avoid further loss of lives.
As Kamfinsa Member of Parliament Christopher Kang’ombe suggested, the UPND government must recognise that young people want to participate in mining and there was no way to prevent them but instead facilitate safe mining. He noted that the Ministry of Mines had announced general terms of how it was dealing with the problem but that there were no specific actions to address exact problems in the country’s different mining provinces.

Mr. Kang’ombe was also of the view that from the policy and law’s point of view, there was nothing that needed to change as there were sufficient laws, adding that what was left was action by the UPND government to ensure safe mining. He suggested that policymakers should consider getting on the ground and engage the various miners on safe mining to curb the escalating loss of lives. Two weeks ago, eight small-scale miners died after the earth collapsed on them at the Konkola Copper Mine`s cop 5 dumpsite in Chingola.Small-scale mining (SSM) has had unprecedented growth in Zambia during the past two decades. The sector now produces a variety of commodities, especially gemstones, building and industrial minerals. From a structural and technical perspective, SSM is conducted on a very rudimentary level, using basic tools such as picks and shovels, and occasionally, mechanised equipment.

The environmental degradation caused by SSM is also growing with the intensification of activities in the country. Meanwhile, institutions responsible for managing the environment are unable to effectively carry out regulatory and monitoring mandates due to inadequate resources. Although current legislation appears to be adequate in many respects, time has now come to effectively carryout the Mines and Minerals Act provisions so that it becomes mandatory for all mining activities, including small-scale mines, to submit environmental impact assessment reports before a license to mine or explore can be granted. Strategies to eliminate illegal mining, enhancement of miners’ technical skills, and mine responsibly must also be placed high on the agenda.Yet clearly, Zambia’s development trajectory has been shaped by mining. For close to 100-years, the extraction of copper has dominated the economy. Without exception, the transnational firms that have controlled the sector have been large-scale, mostly foreign – albeit with periods of national ownership – had access to huge capital outlays, and have focused on copper mining.

Zambia is well endowed with a plethora of mineral deposits beyond copper, which have primarily been mined by SSM miners. These principally include gemstones – emerald, aquamarine, tourmaline, and amethyst. More recently, gold and manganese have risen in importance. Several gold rushes have taken place over the last few years opening up new SSM sites all over the country. On top of this, a rise in demand for manganese on world markets had spurred on the production of the mineral in Central and Luapula provinces. More recently, successive Zambian governments had also bequeathed large copper rich slug dumps on the Copperbelt, colloquially referred to as black mountains, to political supporters introducing another category of urban politicised SSM miners. For now, an important question still remains: Why does SSM matter for Zambia?• Outside of agriculture, SSM is the most important rural activity for non-urban Africans.•

Proceeds from SSM activities provide startup capital for other activities.SSM provides off-season supplementary income for agricultural communities.• SSM often comes with huge social challenges: child labour, health and safety issues, and environmental degradation.•

The specific estimated number of SSM miners in Zambia is unknown but collectively the sector is estimated to employ 13 million people, and provide livelihoods for over 100 million people in sub-Saharan Africa.Needless to say, three things can be thought to characterise Zambia’s SSM sector:1. SSM in Zambia is known for high levels of formalisation, but had done little to unlock the benefits that were often touted as the outcomes of formalisation which includes safe mining. This high-level of formality was in contrast to most of sub-Saharan Africa where SSM was largely informal. This high-level of formalisation partially emanated from the fact that SSM in Zambia had traditionally focused on the gemstone mining of emeralds and amethyst that were found in restricted zones that were mapped out as areas under licence. 2. SSM in Zambia traditionally had been concentrated in the gemstone subsector, primarily emeralds and amethyst mining. Yet recently, discoveries of gold in numerous locations in the country, is changing the narrative. Gold mining, in particular, has attracted the state’s attention with gold panning certificates issued – albeit quickly suspended with the objective of better organising the sector. Both presidential and ministerial statements exalting the role that gold mining can play in stabilising the economy have promptly been issued. The more traditional challenges that occur with informal mining are therefore commonplace – lack of safety standards, environmental concerns and child labour practices.3. State institutions in Zambia have, for the large part, been disinterested in the activities of SSM at best, and regarded them as borderline criminal elements at worst. Consequently, the regulatory and incentive structure has not always been tailored for SSM. Part of the reason for this has been a traditional focus on large-scale mining, which has provided a steady flow of revenues and been the mainstay of the Zambian economy. Successive governments have undertaken numerous policy changes in the mining taxation system aimed at transnational large-scale mining firms that have inadvertently negatively affected SSM miners. All in all, the UPND government must consider whether SSM should be treated as a poverty driven activity and hence should focus on livelihoods, or whether the state should focus on generating revenue from the sector.