By Staff Reporter

Six artisanal miners were killed and four others suffered severe injuries at Mazowe Mine when a hoist pulling them to the surface broke, crashing them 45 meters down.

The mine, formerly owned by Metallon Gold but now under Namib Minerals, has been dormant since 2018.

A section of the mine with old, disused shafts has been overrun by illegal miners leading to rampant criminality including murders.

An incident indicated that tragedy struck around 7PM on July 17when they were returning to the surface with their gold ore.

The dead have been identified as Milton Trust Ngonzwe, 24, from Nyanga, Sebastian Dzaingwa, 33, from Sanyati, Tawanda Nyandoro, 41, from Gokwe, Edger Magenya, 30, from Kwekwe, Elvis Kasaira, 38, from Mutoko and Abel Majangara, 25, from Buhera.

The other four injured “sustained severe injuries, including broken bones, deep cuts, and bruises,” according to the report.

Mazowe Mine obtained a court order in February last year ordering a cessation of illegal mining activities but artisanal miners have remained on the premises.

Earlier in April the government directed the illegal miners to move out after three miners were killed in another hoist failure.