Phanuel Kudakwashe Mangisi, the EMA environmental impact and ecosystems protection officer for Midlands on Friday told journalists that the Gweru-Zvishavane highway was in danger of degradation.
“The panners are digging approaching the main road and the tunnels they have dug are also in the direction of the main road as they follow a belt,” Mangisi said.
“At the moment, we are not even sure how far the tunnels go, but there is a possibility that they will dig through under the roads and this is very risky, as the tarred roads may collapse and cause road accidents.”
He said EMA and the police had tried to raid the panners, but the challenge was that the illegal miners usually operated at night.Mangisi said besides damaging the environment, the panners were also contaminating water sources with mercury which they use to separate the gold ore from the soil.
“Mercury is dangerous to aquatic life and it will also affect us as humans, as some eat the fish from Runde River, which has the Mutevekwi and Dunraven as tributaries, where the panners use the water to separate the gold ore,” he said.
Water in Shurugwi streams that also feed into big rivers like Runde have turned brown in colour due to panning.
