AUTHORITIES at Duration Gold's Vumbachikwe mine are being accused of negligence and failing to meet basic safety measures after a miner inhaled an unspecified substance and died.
Edson Sibindi, who was laid to rest in a moving ceremony in Gwanda Wednesday, suffocated and died instantly at the mine's storeroom after inhaling the deadly substance.
Workers who spoke on condition of anonymity said management was ignoring essential safety measures to the detriment of employees.
"We are not surprised, we have been urging management to enhance our safety; we no longer feel safe at work and most of the time we are working without proper safety clothing yet management has been turning a blind," said a worker who requested anonymity.
The incident comes hardly two months after another miner was crushed to death by a boulder at the Gwanda mine.
Authorities at the mine could not take questions saying they were still investigating the incident.
Last month workers at the troubled mine threatened to go on strike in protest over management's failure to award them bonuses and over poor working conditions.
The mine has previously clashed with government over its failure to cede 51% of its shareholding as provided in the Indigenisation law. Its white owners argue that they are Zimbabweans hence they are not compelled by the controversial law.
Government temporarily shut down Vumbachikwe Mine last year after it failed to adhere to an order to improve its handling of toxic dumps.
Source : http://allafrica.com/stories/201502070317.html
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