News / Regional
Kwekwe City buildings face collapse
22 Apr 2014 at 19:05hrs | Views
The Ministry of Mines and Mining Development has confirmed that there has been a ground movement in Kwekwe after conducting investigations following reports that some buildings on the eastern side of the city are at risk of collapsing into tunnels below.
Uncertainty continues to shroud the future of the city of Kwekwe following confirmation that there has been some ground movement due to tunnels that have been dug underneath the city.
Although the Provincial Mining Engineer, Mr Peter Paswavaiviri refused to divulge more information on the findings following the assessment of the situation.
He only confirmed that there has been some ground movement and refused to rule out concerns of the collapse of buildings.
Mr Paswavairi said a detailed report has already been compiled and sent to their head office in Harare, adding that the situation is being worsened by illegal miners who target underground pillars that support the mine shafts.
The assessment of the town comes after reports indicated that some parts of Kwekwe are at risk of collapsing due to illegal mining activities that were taking place right below the city.
In a telephone interview, mining expert Christopher Goremusandu said the eastern side of Kwekwe city is at risk and urgent action is needed to avert disaster.
He said there are tunnels that run underneath the city that were left by Globe and Phoenix mining company, and due to mining activities and increased rains, the ground under the city is softening and some buildings could be at risk of collapsing into the tunnels.
Goremusandu said Kwekwe has rich gold deposits and that it is economically viable to relocate some parts of the city and compensate the affected people and allow either government or an investor to engage in full scale gold production.
Meanwhile, the risk is not confined to Kwekwe alone as even the scenic Boterekwa Road is also facing collapse due to mining activities.
A road engineer who refused to be named for professional reasons said they are indications that gold panners have been digging tunnels under the road.
Uncertainty continues to shroud the future of the city of Kwekwe following confirmation that there has been some ground movement due to tunnels that have been dug underneath the city.
Although the Provincial Mining Engineer, Mr Peter Paswavaiviri refused to divulge more information on the findings following the assessment of the situation.
He only confirmed that there has been some ground movement and refused to rule out concerns of the collapse of buildings.
Mr Paswavairi said a detailed report has already been compiled and sent to their head office in Harare, adding that the situation is being worsened by illegal miners who target underground pillars that support the mine shafts.
In a telephone interview, mining expert Christopher Goremusandu said the eastern side of Kwekwe city is at risk and urgent action is needed to avert disaster.
He said there are tunnels that run underneath the city that were left by Globe and Phoenix mining company, and due to mining activities and increased rains, the ground under the city is softening and some buildings could be at risk of collapsing into the tunnels.
Goremusandu said Kwekwe has rich gold deposits and that it is economically viable to relocate some parts of the city and compensate the affected people and allow either government or an investor to engage in full scale gold production.
Meanwhile, the risk is not confined to Kwekwe alone as even the scenic Boterekwa Road is also facing collapse due to mining activities.
A road engineer who refused to be named for professional reasons said they are indications that gold panners have been digging tunnels under the road.
Source - zbc
