Tense situation in Mumbwa as police evict small scale miners to pave way for foreign national

A tense situation engulfed Mumbwa’s Matala Gold Mine as police evicted small scale miners after a court order instructing them to vacate the area.

Reports are that the mine has been acquired by a foreign national only identified as Fernando.

The miners claim police officers in riot gear were deployed to enforce the eviction and fired warning shots during the operation.

Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) is an essential part of Zambia’s mining landscape, contributing significantly to rural livelihoods.

Zambia is well endowed with a plethora of mineral deposits beyond copper, which have primarily been mined by ASM miners.

These principally include gemstones – emerald, aquamarine, tourmaline, and amethyst.

More recently, gold and manganese have risen in importance.

Several gold rushes have taken place over the last few years opening up new ASM sites all over the country.

On top of this, a rise in demand for manganese on world markets has spurred on the production of the mineral in the northern province of Luapula.

More recently, the Zambian government has also bequeathed large copper rich slug dumps in the Copperbelt province, colloquially referred to as black mountains, to political supporters introducing another category of urban politicised ASM miners.