The blood-stained roller crusher which rolled over the female employee’s arm

EnviroPress Reporter

A lab assistant working for Bikita Minerals could lose her hand which got seriously injured by a roller crusher while on a night shift on 22 May 2025.

At the time of writing, Primrose Maranda was admitted at Silveira Mission Hospital after last night’s accident but sources say she is likely to be transferred to Masvingo Provincial Hospital for surgical procedure.

The latest accident follows a trend with which the giant lithium miner has become synonymous with in recent months.

Maranda works in the quality assurance and quality control department whose role is to ensure that the mineral products of the company match set standards.

Sources told EnviroPress that a fellow employee had to rush Maranda to Silveira Mission Hospital his personal car after the mine’s ambulance failed to respond in reasonable time.

Read more: Bikita Minerals in desperate attempt to circumvent closure on employee’s death

Pregnant woman dies after Bikita Minerals rejects request for ambulance

Heavy blasting shakes neighborhoods at Bikita Minerals

“The ambulance arrived almost an hour after being called, and the victim had already been rushed to hospital. Though the ambulance itself is always on standby, there is no driver who is always on standby. The driver stays far away in the new Masarasara Compound while the ambulance is parked at the top office,” said one source.

Another source said the risk of accidents at the mine doubled since last year when management forced through new exhausting 12-hour shifts despite opposition from worker representatives.

On October 24, 2023, Nelson Musendekwa, who was a plant operator at the mine’s gravel packing unit, died under dubious circumstances, and his body was retrieved 12 hours later after a crane was hired from Masvingo to remove a vibrating bin discharger which still trapped his body.

No official comment could be obtained from the company by the time of publishing.