EnviroPress Reporter

Three Bikita Primary School children were injured last Friday following heavy blasting operations at Bikita Minerals, raising fresh concerns over safety at Zimbabwe’s largest lithium mine.

The children, who are all related to mine workers, are currently receiving treatment at a local clinic after being struck by debris from the blast.

Two of the injured are children of an employee, Alliston Chivasa, who last year lost his wife during a complicated pregnancy after the mine allegedly refused to release an ambulance to transport her to Harare.

The third child belongs to a worker in the engineering department, Ensolomn Chambara, who himself lost a leg in a workplace accident at the mine in 2024.

Workers at the mine, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation, accused management of neglecting both safety and welfare.

“There was a blast last Friday which resulted in the injury of three children and one mine worker.

“Two children belong to a worker from the production department who lost his wife some time ago after the mine refused to release an ambulance to ferry her to Harare for better management after pregnancy complications,” said one worker.

Another worker painted a picture on what happens when the mine is about to embark on blasting.

“There is a safe zone where everyone is expected to be before blasting. On this day, the three children were playing at Wouter’s Dam when debris flew through the air hitting them and causing varying injuries.

“The children were taken to the local clinic for treatment but their injuries are not life threatening,” said another worker.

The blasting was taking place Ledingham Hill were extraction of spodumene is taking place.

Spodumene is one of the most important sources of lithium, a critical metal essential for rechargeable batteries (especially in electric vehicles and electronics), ceramics, glass, and other industrial applications.

Efforts to obtain a comment from Bikita Minerals were unsuccessful, as both mine manager Liu Rui and spokesperson Collen Nikisi were not answering their phones at the time of publication.