11 workers trapped in Zimbabwe gold mine
Metallon Corp trying to rescue artisanal miners
Eleven artisanal miners remain trapped underground at a gold mine in Zimbabwe after earth tremors disrupted activity at the site.
Redwing Mine, which is owned by Metallon Corp., was placed under corporate rescue in 2020. Previously, large-scale mining at main shafts had taken place at the site, which is 270km west of Harare.
Since the mine was closed, artisanal mining has flourished at the site, with several artisanal mining pits in operation. One of these pits has now collapsed.
In a statement to the local press, Metallon said that it had made several rescue attempts but that the ground was unstable at the site, making it unsafe for the rescue team to proceed.
Images below, from social media site X, show the scale of the devastation the tremor wreaked and the rescue team at the site.
In a post on another social media site, published by Zimbabwe Mining News, the Minister of Mines and Mining Development, Zhemu Soda, said that the miners had mined out support pillars.
"Metallon has been tributing mining areas to individuals and companies, and the shaft that collapsed contained workers of that tribute," Soda said in the video, which can be viewed above. According to local media, the minister has ordered the suspension of all mining activities at Redwing until a full report on the accident has been carried out.
Mining Journal reached out to Metallon for a comment but has not received a response yet.
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