Gold smuggling on the rise
Lebogang Mosikare | Monday May 1, 2023 06:00
Old disused gold mines in Francistown, Matsiloje and surrounding areas are where most people, particularly Zimbabweans are caught and hauled before the Magistrate’s Courts to answer to charges of unlawful gold mining. Hardly a week passes before a Zimbabwean appears in court in relation to allegations of mining gold illegally.
The cases are so widespread such that even minors aged 17 are ensnared in some of the cases. Some people found guilty of illegal gold smuggling decry poor economic conditions in Zimbabwe as one of the pull factors that lead them to Botswana to illegally mine and smuggle gold. Most of these cases are intertwined with a charge of entering Botswana using ungazetted points of entry.
On Tuesday, a Zimbabwean, Attention Ncube, prematurely pleaded guilty of being found in possession of unwrought gold on April 23 in Block 8. Ncube was also found guilty of having entered Botswana illegally. When he appeared before Magistrate Game Mooketsi, prosecutor Leano Kgalemang told the court that soil samples that were taken from Ncube upon his arrest at Block 8 have been taken to the Botswana Geoscience Institute (BGI) for tests.
“We are still awaiting the results of the samples that were taken from the accused for tests from the BGI. We therefore make an application for pleas to be reserved in all the counts pending the results from the forensic laboratory. We anticipate that the results will be ready during the next mention,” said Kgalemang. Magistrate Mooketsi remanded Ncube in custody until May 9 for facts reading for both counts provided the results from the BGI are ready by then. Ncube’s case follows a recent one in which Dominic Ndlovu, 17, and three of his countrymen were allegedly and unlawfully found in possession of unwrought precious metals suspected to be gold.
The increase in the cases of illegal gold mining and smuggling have attracted the attention of Francistown South legislator, Wynter Mmolotsi. Mmolotsi recently told Parliament that over 1,000 cases of unlawful gold mining are registered in the country annually adding that there was an urgent need for the situation to be nipped in the bud before it totally goes out of control.
The exponential increase of cases of illegal gold mining that mostly involve Zimbabweans have fuelled concerns that the gold mined illegally in Botswana might end up being sold legally in Zimbabwe.
According to Mining Technology, an online publication covering mining news, small-scale mining is tolerated, and sometimes encouraged in Zimbabwe due to the practice’s significant contributions to the country’s economy.
Up to 500,000 people are estimated to work in small-scale mining operations, which were responsible for nearly half of the 24.8 tonnes of gold produced in Zimbabwe in 2017. The sector has also received considerable government backing with President Emmerson Mnangagwa investing $150 million into the operations in 2018, says Mining Technology.
“Mining law in Zimbabwe is governed by the 1961 Mines and Mineral Act, which permits any individual, provided they are a “permanent resident of Zimbabwe,” to apply for a mining licence.”