MUTARE – Mutare Mayor Blessing Tandi has continued his spirited defense of the proposed Dangamvura Mountain quarry mining, claiming that the Chinese miners had assured them that the blast effects would not go beyond 165 metres of the site.
The opposition MDC-T mayor was responding to objections by residents, who are now running an anti-mining campaign which has been dubbed ‘Gomo Hari Batwi’, during a Tell Zim News hosted press club meeting in the eastern border city on Saturday.
Tandi who admitted that no feasibility studies had been conducted also expressed concerns over the safety of the pipeline.
He however insisted that “due diligence has been done to mitigate the effects of the granite blasting.”
He argued that it was possible for quarry mining to co-exist with human settlements and industries.
“There is a quarry mine that is close to both the post office and Coca-Cola in Harare and we have not had anyone complaining of sand in beverages packaged at by Coca-Cola bottling company,” Tandi argued.
He said that the miners had already put early measures to contain the risk of any dust pollution which would blow west towards the populous Dangamvura high density suburb which is less than a kilometre away.
” A borehole has been sunk at the site as a measure against the would be dust problem,” the under-fire mayor said.
He admittedly conceded that council had not been consulted in the critical process of developing an environmental impact assessment that ought to precede any mining activity.
This comes amidst growing confusion as an unsigned environmental impact assessment certificate that was supposedly issued to the Chinese firm at the centre of the storm surfaced.
This is despite the company and council having earlier conceded that the EIA process had not been done.
Tandi told journalists and residents during the meeting that the miners have now formally written to the local authority to begin the consultation process.
