A 15-year-old boy has suffered a permanent spinal injury after a mine shaft collapsed at a disputed gold mining site in Bindura, intensifying a long-running conflict over alleged illegal mining operations.
The incident occurred last week at Plot 9 in the Withington area, where Damascus Chisvo is accused of conducting mining activities without the required legal approvals.
According to reports, the teenage victim was trapped when the shaft caved in.
An adult man also sustained leg injuries in the collapse. Both were taken for medical treatment.
Authorities were initially told the pair had fallen from a scotch cart, but the account is alleged to have been fabricated in an attempt to conceal the mining accident.
The injured teenager’s family says it has received no financial assistance from Chisvo and is now appealing for help.
The accident comes amid a protracted dispute between Chisvo and the landholder, Arinesu Mwedzi, a widow who says the miner has refused to vacate her property despite the termination of their mining agreement.
Mwedzi holds an offer letter for a 43-hectare plot at Riverview, Withington Farm, in Bindura.
In a letter dated 16 October 2025, she wrote to provincial authorities seeking urgent intervention to remove Chisvo from the land.
She said the dispute dates back to 2011, when Chisvo approached her with a proposal to mine gold after indications of mineral deposits on the property.
The pair later registered the Quad Mining Syndicate, allocating a two-hectare area for mining.
However, Mwedzi says the arrangement was terminated after the syndicate allegedly failed to comply with regulatory requirements.
Among the concerns she raised were the lack of approvals from the Environmental Management Agency and the absence of a valid Mining Inspection Certificate from the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development.
She also accused the operation of unsafe handling of explosives failing to provide personal protective equipment for workers and ignoring safety standards.
“These conditions have already resulted in serious injuries and deaths at the site,” she said in her complaint.
Mwedzi further alleged that mining activities have spread far beyond the agreed area, attracting hundreds of illegal artisanal miners and causing widespread environmental damage.
She claims the land is now occupied by more than 500 illegal miners, with open pits left unrepaired and livestock falling into abandoned shafts.
Despite repeated warnings, she says Chisvo has refused to leave the property and has allegedly boasted that he is “untouchable”.
The widow also says she and her family have faced intimidation and verbal abuse linked to the dispute.
Before writing to the Provincial Lands Committee, Mwedzi had raised the same concerns in a letter to the Provincial Mining Director for Mashonaland Central on 25 July 2025.
She says the complaint has yet to result in meaningful action.
The latest accident has renewed concerns about safety and regulation in informal mining sector, where poorly regulated operations continue to pose risks to workers and nearby communities.
Efforts to get a comment from Chisvo were in vain as his mobile was not reachable.
