Zimpapers Logo

Conrad Mupesa Mashonaland West Bureau

The recent tour of Ayrshire Mine in Zvimba North constituency, Mashonaland West Province, by Mines and Mining Development Deputy Minister, Polite Kambamura, provided this reporter with a rare but scary opportunity of visiting the belly of a mine shaft.

While it has become a norm for over 400 workers’ daily life routines, a trip down a 13-level mineshaft is not for the faint-hearted.

My first time in a mine shaft proved this.

Despite having been assured of 90 percent safety and security, my heart kept pounding, uncontrollably. Butterflies inside my belly could not be held down, I was anxious.

Geared in an oversized overall, hard hat and gumboots – for that was the only smallest size available for me – I braved the adventurous tour with Tambaoga Gora, a colleague from ZBC, Ayrshire’s manager, Engineer Oswald Makonese, his team and officials from Mines and Mining Development Ministry.

I must say I looked like the late famous English comic actor Sir Charlie Chaplin in one of his various rib-cracking comedies.

Some Ayrshire Mine staff had to help me readjust my safety belt before getting into a suspended lift to take us underground.

Already Deputy Minister Cde Kambamura had been waiting for us underground as he was the first to be hoisted down together with five others, including Eng Makonese.

Cde Kambamura was on a tour to appreciate the expansion initiative being done by the mine which is part of Pan African Mining Pvt Limited.

Ayrshire Mine is injecting over US$19 million towards exploration, shaft deepening and plant upgrade and tailing disposals aimed at ramping gold production from 32kg to 50kg by 2024.

The exploration will subsequently add lifespan to the mine whose current deposits and reserves had dropped to suffice the mine’s requirements for just a year.

While in the lift, a series of horror mine accidents that I have covered and heard of, kept flashing through my mind having been born and bred at the now-defunct and closed copper mining settlement of Mhangura Copper Mine where sporadic but much-pronounced mining accidents made the round. 

A six-minute-long prayer during my entire journey down to the basement of the mine, eased my nerves

While I kept holding firmly to the hoist’s iron steel bars mountings in anticipation of an unforeseen but possible mishap, the other fellows that I joined exchanged jokes, talked without any fear and assured me how safe we were. 

“One who works underground especially at a formal mine like this, is very safe as compared to the bus driver,” said one of the Ayrshire Mine staff members who has worked underground for over 30 years from different mines. 

At least six females work underground at the mine in different areas.

Perhaps it was the will of God or should I say, it was the preparedness of the mine to avoid mine accidents that could affect production that played a role.

The mine has recorded a consecutive five-million fatality-free shifts to date with a mere average of four injuries a year since 2013.

Upon landing on the 13th level where a contractor and Ayrshire Mineworkers are currently working to expand the mine’s shaft by an additional 800 metres to increase monthly and annual gold output, I could not shake from my mind the feeling and fear of millions of tonnes of earth falling on us. 

While we navigated our way to where the Deputy Minister was, a colleague from ZBC head-bumped on the level’s giant rock wall on several occasions.

Deputy Minister Kambamura jokingly but seriously said: “The Second Republic is a hands-on Government. We have to be down here to ascertain the claims that the mine officials have been giving. We can’t talk of exploration and expansion work without seeing them.

“For you (the media) to report factually, you also have to physically see the works hence your part of this tour,” he said with a smiling face.

“We are here to check on what the company is doing with regards to His Excellency; President Mnangagwa for mines to expand their production. We have been told that the mine wants to increase production from 12 500 tonnes to 25 000 tonnes per month to ramp up gold output production from 32kg to 47kg per month also.

“This is evidence enough that they are expanding through the sinking of a sub-vertical shaft which is going to be 800 metres deep from the current 13-level,” he added.

Ayrshire Mine started operations in 1891 before the Pan African Mining Pvt Limited took over in 1987. 

It operates on a 797-hectare area having mined 2km of its 9km claims which cover 670 hectares. 

Apart from shaft deepening, Ayrshire Mine is also conducting geophysical surveys and geochemical sampling and trenching for open-pit mine expansion.

“The company has hired a private company’s two rigs to drill an excess of 2km. We want to upgrade our plant to meet the foreseeable increased tonnage from both underground and open-pit,” said Eng Makonese. 

Despite having spent close to two hours underground without facing any sign of danger, I breathed a sigh of life after the convincing and upbeat Deputy Minister Kambamura who had visited all the areas of interest was ready to leave the bottom of the shaft to visit open pits. 

Our sweat-soaked selves were hoisted to the surface for the visit of the open pit expansion drive. 

To meet the demand of accommodation as anticipated by an increased work force, the mine is constructing additional 100 houses to accommodate a lot of its workers currently being housed at its sister company, Muriel Mine located some 52km to the  east. 

The mine is also involved in community engagement projects including borehole drillings aimed at augmenting the Second Republics efforts of improving the socio-economic lives of the people.