![\"\"](\"https:\/\/openafricantribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/hjkjk-1024x682.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nCyanide Danger in Shurugwi<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Chenxi\u2019s gold extraction method is known as heap leaching. Crushed low-grade ore is piled into large heaps, then sprayed with a sodium cyanide solution, which dissolves gold and silver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The solution is collected, processed through resins, and refined into solid gold. This process can take weeks or even months. When not strictly contained, it produces highly toxic waste that can seep into the soil and waterways surrounding the site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Concerns about containment in Shurugwi are growing. Community members have reported that chemical runoff from leaching beds is entering the Mutevekwi River and other nearby streams in the Boterekwa area. The CNRG has documented that villages along the Boterekwa River can no longer safely rely on the river water for daily domestic or agricultural use due to slime spillages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maguwu explained that during rains, cyanide and toxic waste are washed into rivers and dams, such as in Shurugwi, Sodium cyanide is highly toxic; even in small amounts, it can kill aquatic life and pose serious health risks to humans through skin contact, ingestion, or inhaling fumes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When cyanide solutions are not properly managed, as seems to be the case in Shurugwi, the contamination can silently spread through groundwater, making it very difficult to trace and control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Residents are also facing serious air quality issues like red dust from open-cast mining, and vehicle movements have become a daily hazard. Visibility drops sharply during blasting operations around Boterekwa, and community members report having to clean their homes constantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Children are especially vulnerable; the dust reduces road visibility, increasing the risk of accidents, and long-term inhalation of silica-rich dust from mining causes silicosis, a progressive and incurable lung disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pardon Machocho, chairperson of the Shurugwi Residents Trust, painted a bleak picture of the health impacts already being felt: \u201cWe have buried about eight community members who I personally know, recently from silicosis, which is a worrying trend.\u201d Local health officials have largely remained silent on these issues, and a comprehensive public health assessment of those affected has yet to be carried out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unstable Ground<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Arguably, the most immediately alarming aspect of Chenxi\u2019s operations for Shurugwi residents is the blasting. High-capacity explosives are detonated without consistent warning, day and night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Residents compare the experience to living through repeated tremors and earthquakes. Ceilings have collapsed, windows have shattered, and kitchen utensils have vibrated off shelves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Investigations have identified at least 17 residential areas affected by these blasts, including Makusha, Ironsides, Ironkop, Dark City, Feny Creek, MacKinnon Kopje, Tebekwe, Camperdown, and Wanderer. In areas near the town\u2019s central business district, including around Leilano Lodge and Selukwe Primary School, dozens of houses display visible cracks, which owners attribute directly to Chenxi\u2019s blasting activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Adding to the danger is the town\u2019s geological history. Shurugwi is built on a network of old underground mining tunnels, many decades old and structurally compromised. When surface blasting occurs, ground tremors can be amplified by these tunnels, significantly increasing the risk of sudden subsidence or collapse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some residents live directly over these hollowed-out spaces, effectively on unstable ground. Machocho has warned that \u201cdisaster is looming in Shurugwi\u201d due to the combined effects of surface blasting and underground instability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the Wanderer area, residents and community groups have observed cracks in the ground spanning 2 kilometres, which they believe indicate an imminent structural failure. Water reservoirs and telecommunications infrastructure at MacKinnon Kopje, where mining activities are ongoing, face similar dangers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Conflict With Locals<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The disturbance caused by Chenxi\u2019s operations extends beyond physical damage. The company has stationed armed guards and dogs around its mining rights, effectively preventing local communities from accessing land they have used for generations. Villagers who once collected mushrooms and wild fruits from nearby forests, grazed livestock on open pastures, and visited the Dunraven Falls for cultural and spiritual ceremonies now find themselves barred by armed sentries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This exclusion has severe economic and cultural repercussions. Families that relied on harvesting forest products to supplement their living have lost that source of income. Grazing lands have been destroyed, putting their livestock herds at risk. Sacred sites have been desecrated, adding to the sense of loss. One resident, who chose to remain anonymous, described the devastation: \u201cThey have desecrated places we hold sacred, dug up graves, and destroyed mountains; nothing remains for us to cherish.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes, tensions between the company\u2019s security personnel and community members have escalated into violence. In September 2024, Emmanuel Geje, a 20-year-old resident, was shot in the right leg by a Chinese employee at Chenxi\u2019s Dunraven mining claim. Geje says he was passing through the area. The company contributed $5,000 toward his medical expenses but offered no formal explanation for the shooting. Chenxi\u2019s general manager claimed Geje had been trespassing and argued that the guard acted in self-defence. So far, this incident has not led to any criminal charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many villagers feel they must bear these abuses in silence, largely because they perceive the company\u2019s political clout as untouchable. As one resident put it, \u201cOur leaders say they can\u2019t do anything because there are higher-ups involved in this exploitation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The ownership structure of Chenxi Investments lies at the heart of the governance crisis in Shurugwi. A man heavily linked to the presidency is publicly recognised as the company\u2019s chairman and senior partner, a fact openly acknowledged by Chenxi\u2019s general manager at a public event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This connection to the presidential family, according to community groups, civil society organisations, and even some local officials, has fostered an environment where standard regulatory processes are effectively circumvented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An examination of the company\u2019s licensing history reveals troubling patterns. Early investigations showed that the original license holder, Ansh Blue 4\/8 (Private) Limited, was found by the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) in 2022 to have illegally expanded from underground shaft mining into open-cast mining without completing the necessary environmental impact assessments. The EMA fined Ansh Blue, ordered the illegal activities to stop, and noted that the damage had marred the scenic escarpment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nonetheless, operations persisted. Chenxi then obtained its own licenses directly from the Ministry of Mines, essentially legalising what had initially been an illegal operation. Maguwu of the CNRG pointed out that government officials in Shurugwi privately express serious concerns about Chenxi\u2019s activities but feel politically constrained from taking action: \u201cThe feeling is that those running the company They are above the law. There is no political will.\u201d The symbolism is hard to ignore: while the town is busy constructing the local headquarters of a devastating mining company, it\u2019s also building the ruling party\u2019s local headquarters. Mayor Fanuel Machiya has been more candid, calling for urgent dialogue and lamenting that previous written requests to engage with Chenxi since 2022 have gone unanswered. \u201cWe are not opposed to mining in Shurugwi,\u201d Machiya said, \u201cbut we ask that they consider the impact on residents.\u201d He pointed to companies like Zimasco and Unki, which have operated in the area for years without generating similar community grievances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On paper, Zimbabwe does have the regulatory infrastructure needed to address issues like those in Shurugwi. The EMA exists precisely to prevent the kind of destruction Chenxi is causing. It has the legal authority to fine, halt operations, and mandate rehabilitation. In 2022, it did utilise those, but they were ignored. The provincial manager confirmed that the agency produces quarterly reports for the Minister of State and stated that mining activities require \u201ccoordinated action by government, local authorities, and communities.\u201d These words reflect an agency aware of its role within a system where other parts aren\u2019t functioning effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Ministry of Mines has also been evasive. An official, acknowledging the environmental damage in Shurugwi, stated that rehabilitation would \u201conly start once the mineral resources in these areas have been depleted”, effectively putting profits ahead of environmental protection. Provincial Mining Director Khumbulani Mlangeni echoed this, saying many issues \u201crelate to EMA compliance,\u201d while confirming that mines hold legal titles. The situation underlines a broader trend across Zimbabwe\u2019s mining sector, where the formal regulatory framework exists. Still, it is often rendered ineffective by political pressure, limited resources, and the complex web of multiple agencies involved. Chenxi\u2019s general manager, Simon Karimanzira, has been refreshingly frank about accepting this reality: \u201cIt\u2019s not a peculiar situation for a big company like ours to get a few tickets and orders now and then,\u201d he said, noting that the company has \u201cnever been shut down.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The fact that fines are treated as routine operating costs rather than serious deterrents reveals the deep failure of enforcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shurugwi\u2019s crisis must also be understood within a broader continental context. Over the past decade, Chinese investment in African mining has grown dramatically, driven by China\u2019s demand for minerals to fuel its industrial economy and by African governments\u2019 eagerness for the capital, infrastructure, and employment that Chinese firms promise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Zimbabwe has been a particularly active recipient of this investment, with Chinese-linked companies operating across the gold, chrome, and lithium sectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The economic contributions of this investment are real: foreign exchange earnings, employment, and infrastructure development. Chenxi itself has drilled boreholes for communities, employed local workers, and claims to implement a corporate social responsibility programme targeting education, health, and agriculture through the District Development Coordinator\u2019s office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These contributions are not insignificant, particularly in an economically marginalised region. But the governance concerns that have emerged from Shurugwi, opacity of ownership, circumvention of environmental regulation, reliance on political connections for protection, and the systematic exclusion of local communities from decision-making are not unique to this company or this town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They appear with striking regularity in documented cases of Chinese-linked mining operations across sub-Saharan Africa, from Ghana to the Democratic Republic of Congo to Zambia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The pattern points to a structural problem: when foreign investors can access political elites in host countries, and when those elites have personal financial interests in the investments, the normal mechanisms of public accountability are bypassed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Regulatory agencies find their hands tied. Communities lack the legal standing, resources, or political access to challenge decisions made far above their heads. And the costs of extraction, environmental, social, and health-related, are externalised onto the very communities that receive the least from the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At this stage, there is no credible or funded rehabilitation plan for the Boterekwa Escarpment. The Ministry of Mines has indicated that any rehabilitation will begin only after mining is complete, a timeline that could span years or even decades. Environmental groups argue this approach is fundamentally inadequate. Progressive rehabilitation, undertaken concurrently with extraction, is standard practice in responsible mining operations worldwide. Waiting until the damage is total before attempting to reverse it makes ecological recovery far more difficult and expensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Restoring the Boterekwa Escarpment to anything approaching its former ecological function would require, at a minimum, slope stabilisation to prevent erosion and landslides, replanting of indigenous vegetation, decontamination of affected waterways, and the long-term monitoring of the Mutevekwi River and surrounding groundwater systems. The cost of such work, and who would bear it, remains entirely unresolved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chenxi\u2019s management has mentioned commitments to rehabilitation, slope stabilisation, and tree planting, including hosting a National Tree Planting Day. Environmental advocates regard these gestures as wholly disproportionate to the scale of destruction. Machocho of the Shurugwi Residents Trust has repeatedly called on the government to take the situation seriously, noting that petitions to local authorities and the central government have thus far yielded no meaningful response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Zimbabwe\u2019s gold sector is economically vital. The country produced record quantities of gold in recent years, and the government has made mining a centrepiece of its economic recovery strategy. Gold exports generate critical foreign currency, support government revenue, and employ tens of thousands of people. No serious analysis of Shurugwi should ignore these realities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the question that Shurugwi forces into the open is: who pays the price of that gold, and who counts the benefit? The gold extracted from the Boterekwa Escarpment is sold through Fidelity Gold Refinery and contributes to national export figures. Collins Mnangagwa and his business partners accumulate wealth. The Zimbabwean state earns royalties. Meanwhile, residents of Shurugwi breathe dust-laden air, drink compromised water, watch their houses crack, and are locked out of their ancestral lands by armed guards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The CNRG\u2019s Maguwu has called the long-term consequences of this model \u201ccatastrophic\u201d, perpetuating a cycle of poverty, displacement, and human suffering. That word, \u201cperpetuation,\u201d is key. Extractive industries that destroy the ecological and social foundations of communities do not simply cause temporary hardship. They foreclose futures. When aquifers are destroyed, soils are contaminated, when tourism potential is obliterated and sacred sites desecrated, the harm endures long after the last gram of gold has been shipped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shurugwi does not demand a complete stop of mining activities in the area. Its representatives, including mayor, residents, and organizations, insist upon coexistence and benefit sharing instead. They require the notification about the scheduled blastings, reliable measures that would contain the dangerous chemicals, competent regulators not fearing any sanctions for taking appropriate actions, and negotiations, not intimidation and coercion of mining companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In essence, everything comes to one question regarding whether Zimbabwe\u2019s political leadership considers regulatory authorities functional enough or sees them as an obstacle on its way. As long as the company\u2019s management remains in hands of the president\u2019s son, the latter scenario is highly likely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On the edge of Zimbabwe\u2019s Midlands province, the mining town of Shurugwi is gradually disappearing, not suddenly, but gradually, piece by piece. Hills that once attracted tourists and supported local livelihoods are being levelled. Rivers that sustain communities are now flowing with toxic chemical waste. Houses built over underground shafts are cracking under the tremors […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121,"featured_media":7122,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"saved_in_kubio":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,15,30,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-governance","category-infrastructure"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/openafricantribune.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/openafricantribune.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/openafricantribune.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openafricantribune.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/121"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openafricantribune.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7099"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/openafricantribune.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7099\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7126,"href":"https:\/\/openafricantribune.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7099\/revisions\/7126"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openafricantribune.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7122"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/openafricantribune.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openafricantribune.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openafricantribune.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/openafricantribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/thjuyku-1024x640.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nChenxi Ownership Structure<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Critics and civil society groups argue that the Ministry of Mines bypassed standard local licensing procedures in issuing these approvals, raising concerns about political interference at the highest levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chenxi\u2019s deep political ties are also evident in material ways. The company funded and built the ZANU-PF district party offices in Shurugwi, a move made during a ceremony attended by Collins Mnangagwa and officiated by Owen Ncube, the Midlands Minister of State and a close ally of the president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shurugwi North legislator Joseph Mpasi, whom some residents allege has connections to Chenxi, has defended the company\u2019s operations, blaming community concerns on unfamiliarity with large-scale mining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since then, EMA has adopted a cautious stance, favouring monitoring over aggressive enforcement. Its spokesperson directed media inquiries to the mines licensing department without comment on the reported violations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This pattern of institutional avoidance is not unique to Shurugwi.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWho Pays the Price?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n