EnviroPress Reporter

The traditional leadership of Mberengwa District has granted Kuvimba Mining House (KMH) its crucial social license to operate the Sandawana lithium mine, but their support is far from a blank cheque after laying down a comprehensive list of demands that the mining giant must meet.

At a recent meeting between the mine’s owner, Kuvimba Mining House (KMH), and traditional leaders, Senator Chief Ngungumbane (pictured) publicly voiced the community’s deepest fears. He cautioned that villagers at Sandawana, including a local school, will have to be relocated to move them away from the noise and environmental pollution of the massive operation.

While commending the initial US$56 million investment, Chief Ngungumbane made it clear that the community’s expectations are high.

He leveraged the meeting to pivot from the company’s promises to the community’s needs, issuing a plea for the company to tar all major routes used by its trucks, not just the single road to West Nicholson.

“Since taking over Sandawana, you have indicated that a total of US$56 million has so far been invested towards reviving operations at this mine, something which we also commend you for.

“For the past four years you have been on the ground, we are seeing employment opportunities created as a result of your operations. You also have indicated that you have got a project that you intend to roll out where the road from here (Sandawana) to West Nicholson Siding in Gwanda, Matabeleland South Province will be tarred.

“But my plea to the investor is that while your trucks also use other routes within the district, as communities we look forward to seeing all the routes being tarred, and that would be the first phase of the envisaged rapid development to be rolled out in three phases in the district,” said Chief Ngungumbane.

The chiefs put the company on notice regarding its social and environmental obligations. They demanded a formal development-induced displacement policy to ensure any relocated families receive fair compensation and quality housing, explicitly citing failures by other mining companies as a benchmark of what to avoid.

“We also expect that Sandawana Mine School and homesteads currently in the mine will be relocated from the existing locations to a better area.

“As the investor relocates and constructs new homes and the school, we expect that ideal model home will be constructed.

“It has happened elsewhere in Marange, Manicaland that when people were relocated to pave way for mining operations by one of the diamond companies, it happened that there was poor workmanship of the residential infrastructure by that company.

“Under your rapid development programme, we expect that the investor will develop social amenities,” he said.

The traditional leaders have mandated that for KMH to transform Mberengwa into a town, it must first commit to solving the district’s most fundamental infrastructure and resource challenges, ensuring the wealth extracted from the ground is mirrored by tangible, widespread development for its people.

Sandawana Mines general manager Godwin Gambiza hailed the gesture by the traditional leaders in Mberengwa saying his organisation would sit down to see how best they can strive to meet the community’s expectations.

“We might then rank them and see how we can then start to implement those resolutions. From what we heard, some are short-term while some are medium-to-long-term expectations.

“Like we have indicated before, some of our projects that we are undertaking include the US$110 road rehabilitation and maintenance programme and a 60MW solar power plant project to the tune of US$100 million.

“Feasibility studies for the power plant are already underway,” said Gambiza.