Govt orders reopening of Iringa gold mine

MINERALS Deputy Minister, Dotto Biteko has ordered Nyakavangala Gold Mine in Iringa Region to reopen by March 5, this year.

The mine was closed on Monday, last week, following an accident on January 30 which led to the death of two artisanal miners. It was established that the cause of the accident was failure to observe safety procedures and regulations during mining.
Mr Biteko issued the instruction on Monday after touring the mining site at Malengamakali Ward in Iringa. He was on a familiarisation tour at the mine where he also had the opportunity to speak to small-scale miners over their activities.
“The government is disturbed to see economic activities at this mining site having stopped due to an accident,” he said, directing the evaluators of the accident to complete the exercise as soon as possible, so that business can resume. But he told the artisanal miners to be patient as the exercise was ongoing in order to avoid another calamity in the future. “The mine will not be opened until the evaluation exercise completes within two weeks from today … the evaluators should finish within this timeframe to pave the way for restart of economic activities in the area,” he said.
He further noted that the government will continue to shut down mines that experience accidents, insisting that miners countrywide should ensure that they adhere to professional advices offered by minerals officers. “We will continue closing those mines because people’s lives are worthier than all productions at the mine,” he stated.
In line with this, the Deputy Minister directed the mine inspectors to make regular visits to the mining sites in order to check the way mining activities are conducted and provide necessary trainings for better mining and safety to the miners. According to a report by the Iringa District Council, the first accident occurred in June, last year, killing one person, followed by another incident in November of the same year, causing one death.