Mines and Mining Development Minister, Polite Kambamura says environmental, social and governance (ESG) compliance will soon become a mandatory requirement for companies seeking mining rights, renewals and extensions.
Kambamura said the government was moving towards an evidence-based approach to ESG, with mining companies expected to demonstrate tangible results rather than simply produce paperwork.
Speaking at the Zimbabwe Agrictural Show – Minex National ESG Conference, Minister Kambamura said the mining industry had to account for its environmental and social impact as the country sought to expand mineral production.
“I will talk of evidence… Evidence of ESGs that we are actually implementing. Not paperwork, but evidence. An evidence-driven approach,” he said.
He said mining sector had performed strongly in the first half of 2026, recording mineral exports of about US$5.73bn.
The Minister said the growth, driven by minerals including platinum group metals, lithium and chrome, was encouraging but should not come at the expense of communities and the environment.
“But the value attained is not the value gained. It is the exchange of our environment. The water that we use, the trees that we cut off, the gases that we emit, all those come into that equation,” Kambamura said.
He warned that mining that degraded agricultural land, polluted water sources or excluded communities from economic benefits could not be regarded as genuine national development.
“Growth that degrades the catchment, that lives in an unregulated pit, that injures the mine, or that bypasses the village at the mine gate is not a national achievement. It is a national debt, and it falls due to our children,” he said.
The government plans to strengthen enforcement in collaboration with the Environmental Management Agency while environmental impact assessments will be treated as binding commitments rather than administrative requirements.
Kambamura said ESG requirements would also be incorporated into the country’s mining legislation.
“We will be legislating our ESGs to be a pre-requisite to application mining rights, renewal of mining rights, and the extension itself,” he said.
The minister said rehabilitation of mined-out areas and responsible land and water management were no longer optional for mining companies.
He also urged mining firms to improve transparency and disclose their ESG performance, warning that international markets and financiers were increasingly demanding proof of responsible production.
“ESG is not a tax on our operations, it is the price of the ticket into the markets we are already trying to enter,” Kambamura said.
He said the relationship between mining and agriculture made responsible mining particularly important, as both sectors depend on the same land, water sources and communities.
The government is also working to strengthen the E-Mining Cadastral System to improve transparency in the administration of mining titles while requiring title holders to settle outstanding obligations.
Kambamura said the ministry wanted mining companies, regulators, communities and other stakeholders to develop practical ESG frameworks that could be implemented and independently verified.
