In Zambia’s mining regions ,the pursuit of fortunes such as gold through illegal mining has come at a devastating cost, one measured not in milligrams, but in lives being lost, rivers poisoned, and communities fractured.
Although Illegal mining has being a mean of survival for some families , it has costed a number of lives, made a bunch of children fatherless and communities frustrated.
From the collapsed shafts of Kikonge in Mufumbwe to the fatal cave-ins at Mulyashi South Mine in Luanshya, the toll of illegal mining is mounting.In July 2023, a 32-year-old Goodson Malama was buried alive while mining copper ore with 12 others.
That same day, in Zimba District, a 45-year-old Mwangala Mwakoi perished when a pit collapsed as he dug for amethyst. These are not isolated tragedies, they are part of a grim pattern of illegal mining.
In Kasempa District, illegal gold mining polluted the Dengwe and Lufupa Rivers, compromising water quality and threatening public health.
In other reports, similar contamination was reported in Mkushi, Chisamba, and Chingola, where tailings and toxic runoff seeped into vital water bodies like the Kafue.
Meanwhile, a final year mining student from The University of Zambia (UNZA) notes that illegal mining has its own risks and consequences that people do not pay attention to.
“Such incidents continuously happen because the illegal miners have no supervision, they do it without any precaution,” he says.
Recognizing the dangers of unregulated mining, the Zambian government took a bold step.
Mines Minister Paul Kabuswe announced the issuance of over 1,000 artisanal mining licenses to young Zambians in 2024.
This initiative aimed to transition miners from the shadows into the safety of legality, offering them a chance to operate with dignity, training, and oversight.
However, despite this effort, environmental and human costs of illegal operations have continued to rise.
Recent reports such as the Mufumbe and Matala gold mine scandals which claimed a number of lives have proven that illegal mining sites are nothing but death traps.
In an interview with Lusaka Star, Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) Board Vice Chair Austin Katunta says that It is unfortunate that lives have been lost in such conditions considering the Mufumbwe incident.
“It is not illegal mining but rather licensed mining, people would not have died because in licensed mining all things are taken into account, the protective clothing including tools to use are all provided and the safety issues are taken care of,” he says.
Katunta further notes that Illegal mining is a huge danger to the environment in that the chemicals being used to wash the gold distorts the Potential Hydrogen (pH) levels of water.He has therefore urged that people must resist from doing illegalities as it has serious consequences.
“This is why the law is there, the law is there for the common good. Anything the law prohibits means it is not good for society, if people abided, lives would not have been lost,” Katunta says.
Thus, It is not about who is right, who did what or who went where, its about ensuring that everyone is aware of the risks and dangers that come with unsupervised mining.