BULAWAYO — Namib Minerals has trained and certified 103 small-scale miners in Umzingwane under a practical mining-safety programme designed to strengthen technical capacity, improve operational standards and support Zimbabwe’s drive to formalise artisanal and small-scale mining.
The pioneer group received certificates at a ceremony in Esigodini from Umzingwane legislator and Deputy Minister of Defence, Brigadier-General (Rtd) Levi Mayihlome, marking the completion of the inaugural programme delivered with technical support from Namib Minerals’ How Mine.
The initiative highlights the growing role of established mining companies in transferring technical expertise to the informal mining sector, where inadequate safety practices, limited access to training and weak regulatory compliance remain significant operational and economic challenges.
Training covered ground support, hazard identification, shaft-flooding prevention, emergency response, underground gas testing, regulatory compliance and mining-claim registration. Participants were also introduced to the regulatory and technical requirements for obtaining mine-blasting licences and full blasting certificates.
Mayihlome said mining presented substantial economic opportunities for local communities but warned that those opportunities could be undermined by inadequate technical knowledge, equipment and safety systems.
He said Government’s engagement with How Mine was intended to expose small-scale miners to practical expertise developed through years of commercial mining operations.
“There is knowledge that can be found in textbooks and classrooms, but there is also invaluable knowledge that comes from years of operating a mine, managing workers, dealing with mining risks and implementing safety systems,” Mayihlome said.
He commended Namib Minerals for opening How Mine’s technical expertise to miners in surrounding communities, describing the programme as an important corporate social responsibility intervention.
“How Mine has generously made its expertise available to our artisanal miners. We are particularly grateful for this demonstration of selfless corporate social responsibility. Your contribution goes beyond providing training; you are contributing to safer communities,” he said.
Building a Formal Small-Scale Mining Sector
The programme comes as Zimbabwe seeks to move artisanal and small-scale mining towards greater formalisation, productivity and regulatory compliance.
For small-scale operators, access to professional training can be a significant barrier to formalisation. By partnering with established producers, Government and communities can potentially reduce that gap while improving safety and creating a more structured pathway into the formal mining economy.
How Mine Mine Manager Ophir Gwede said the programme was designed to address practical knowledge deficiencies that can expose miners to avoidable operational risks.
“How Mine’s goal is to bridge the knowledge gap, minimise preventable operational hazards, and empower local miners with the tools and regulatory insights required to operate safely, legally, and sustainably,” Gwede said.
The approach could also have wider economic implications. Better-trained small-scale miners are more likely to comply with regulations, maintain safer operations and improve production efficiency, potentially increasing the amount of gold entering formal channels.
Expanding Zimbabwe Gold Footprint
Namib Minerals, which is listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market, is simultaneously expanding its operations in Zimbabwe as it seeks to increase gold production.
The company is advancing expansion plans at How Mine, while working towards the restart of Redwing Mine in Penhalonga and Mazowe Mine, further extending its investment footprint across Zimbabwe’s gold sector.
The company’s engagement with small-scale miners therefore comes alongside an expanding commercial presence in the country’s mining industry, creating potential opportunities for greater integration between large-scale operators and the artisanal and small-scale mining economy.
Beyond mining, Namib Minerals has undertaken several community-development initiatives in Umzingwane and Bulawayo, including classroom construction, clinic electrification, community boreholes and donations of medical equipment to public hospitals.
For Zimbabwe’s mining industry, the 103 graduates represent more than a safety-training milestone. The programme illustrates how technical partnerships between established mining companies, Government and small-scale operators could become an important mechanism for formalisation, productivity improvement and safer participation in the country’s gold economy.
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