EnviroPress Reporter

The history of Sandawana is written in its geology: first came the emeralds, now comes the lithium. For over half a century, the mine was a legend, producing some of the world’s most intensely coloured green gems. Its name was synonymous with luxury and rarity. But its fortune was fickle, and after ownership changed hands through the decades, the mine fell silent in 2010, its vibrant history buried under economic hardship.

Today, Sandawana is being resurrected for a new era. The “white gold” of lithium, the critical element for batteries powering the world’s green transition, is the mine’s second act.

Kuvimba Mining House (KMH), the new custodians of this storied asset, are not just digging for minerals; they are digging into a complex legacy.

The weight of this history was palpable at the recent community engagement. The fifteen chiefs present, led by the astute Senator Chief Ngungumbane, are the living archives of the mine’s past.

Their “endorsement” of the project was not a simple approval, but a historically informed negotiation.

When the Chief warned KMH against the “poor workmanship” seen in relocations at the Marange diamond fields, he was drawing a clear line in the sand, referencing a painful chapter in the nation’s mining story that he was determined not to see repeated.

His demands went further, reflecting decades of watching resources leave the district with little lasting benefit. The plea to tar all local roads, the insistence on local sourcing of goods, and the critical demand for the company to build new dams to combat a “threat to national security” were the accumulated grievances and aspirations of a community that has seen this play before.

Sandawana’s transformation from a source of static gemstones to a provider of dynamic energy material is symbolic. The traditional leadership has made it clear that the extractive model of the past is over. The mine’s second act must be one where the wealth generated powers not just distant cities and cars, but the immediate, tangible development of Mberengwa itself.