HARARE
–
Kuvimba
Mining
House
(KMH)
has
launched
its
annual
sustainability
campaign
aimed
at
improving
the
environment
in
areas
where
its
various
mining
projects
are
taking
place.
The
unveiling
of
the
campaign
took
place
at
KMH’s
subsidiary,
Freda
Rebecca
Gold
Mine
(FRGM)
in
Bindura
on
Friday.
The
subsidiary
has
already
planted
over
10,000
trees
and
lawn
around
its
new
Tailing
Storage
Facility
(TSF)
to
rehabilitate
the
environment.
A
TSF
is
a
mining
structure
used
to
store
waste
materials
after
mineral
extraction.
TSFs
can
cause
significant
damage
to
local
communities
if
not
managed
properly.
TSFs
can
cause
water
and
air
pollution,
soil
erosion,
dust
pollution,
landscape
alteration,
and
potential
disasters
like
dam
failures,
impacting
ecosystems
and
human
health.
KMH
Group
Chief
Executive
Officer
Trevor
Barnard
said
their
mining
entity
is
committed
to
preserving
the
environment
and
communities
they
operate
from.
“We
are
strongly
committed
to
preserving
the
environment
and
protecting
communities
in
our
operational
areas.
I
am
delighted
to
launch
the
‘Restoring
Nature,
Securing
Tomorrow’
initiative,
where
we
build
our
operations
and
support
our
teams
to
foster
environmental
stewardship.
“We
work
in
collaboration
with
local
communities
to
realise
intergenerational
environmental
sustainability,”
said
Barnard.
Mashonaland
Central
Chief
Chipadze,
EMA
and
over
100
students
on
attachment
and
graduate
trainees
at
Freda
Rebecca
Gold
were
part
of
the
delegates
who
participated
in
the
environmental
stewardship
programme.
Speaking
at
the
same
event,
Chief
Chipadze
welcomed
the
campaign
urging
other
mining
companies
to
follow
suit.
“This
tree
planting
exercise
we
are
witnessing
today
is
a
great
and
I’m
happy
because
we
are
planting
our
own
indigenous
trees
which
can
survive
in
this
environment.
“We
wish
and
urge
all
mining
companies
to
do
the
same
to
avoid
environmental
damages
to
the
surrounding
communities,”
Chipadze
said.
FRGM
managing
director
Patrick
Shayawabaya
said
now
the
exercise
will
be
rolled
out
in
all
KMH
subsidiaries.
“This
will
go
to
all
our
other
operations,
we
cleared
vegetation,
we
removed
crop
soil,
we
disturbed
the
natural
environment,
even
though
we
can
never
completely
restore
this
area
to
what
it
was
before,
that
would
have
been
an
effort
to
restore
the
vegetation,”
he
said.
As
part
of
this
campaign,
KMH
operational
mines
have
been
actively
involved
in
various
community
initiatives.
Sandawana
Mines,
the
company’s
lithium
mine
in
the
Energy
cluster,
has
built
over
20
kilometres
of
roadworks
and
implemented
dust
suppression
initiatives
in
the
Mberengwa
District.
Additionally,
they
have
rolled
out
health
promotion
initiatives
for
the
district
and
its
16
Chiefs.
Jena
Mines
has
constructed
over
5
kilometres
of
roadworks
in
the
Lower
Gweru
area,
Zimbabwe
Alloys
has
operates
a
backfilling
programme
for
disused
pits
to
protect
local
communities.
KMH
is
Zimbabwe’s
leading
gold
producer
and
a
mining
conglomerate
with
a
diverse
portfolio
of
mines
in
gold,
PGMs,
energy,
and
bulk
commodities.
The
campaign
is
running
under
the
theme
“restoring
nature
and
securing
tomorrow”.