EMA reviews rules for miners

The Environmental Management Authority has started reviewing its licensing regulations for the extractive industry as part of efforts to encourage formalisation of small-scale mining under Government's 100-day programme.

The exercise is also expected to increase compliance with environmental regulations by artisanal miners, which is currently around 40 percent. Part of the initiatives include decentralisation of the application for environmental impact assessment, a requirement for all mining firms. However, there has previously been a one size fits all for all mining companies, which deterred artisanal miners from formalising.

In an interview, EMA head of environmental impact assessment, ecosystem protection and waste management Christopher Mushava said the review of the regulations sought to come up with measures that would specifically cater for artisanal miners to ensure their operations were formalised.

"This exercise is expected increase the number of artisanal miners who register their claims and comply with the regulations. By year end we should have 80 percent compliance from the current 40 percent as we are looking at improving the ease of doing business process. This is also part of our 100 day plan. We are looking at the size of the business, we cannot have artisanal miners paying the same fee that is paid by Bindura (Nickel Corporation) for instance," said Mr Mushawa.

EMA has already reviewed downwards the two year license fees for artisanal miners to $210. Prior to the implementation of reforms, artisanal miners were required to pay 1 percent of the total project cost, which deterred them from registering.

"The reviews should address the bottle necks that existed in certification of small scale miners. Our 100-day programme should encourage artisanal miners to formalise and increase their contribution to the economy," he said. There has been an outcry from artisanal miners that the legislative framework is punitive and discourages business growth. As a result, artisanal miners, especially gold producers, channelled their output to illegal dealers, prejudicing the economy of millions of dollars in gold leakages.

Artisanal miners are now the country's primary gold producers accounting for 53 percent of the gold delivered to Fidelity Printers and Refiners in 2017. Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) chief executive Wellington Takavarasha said the artisanal miners would continue to engage the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development to come up with policies that catered for small scale miners.