Global Press Journal
BINDURA: Amid piles of red soil and the buzz of grinding mills, Lloyd Karambakuwa prepares to risk his life for gold.
Tall and slim, the 40-year-old is an artisanal miner in Bindura, a town 86 kilometers (53 miles) northeast of Harare, the capital. On this day, he dons a pair of worn-out shorts, attaches his headlamp and throws his equipment into a shallow tunnel. There is nothing to keep the tunnel from collapsing.
He has no protective clothing, equipment or formal knowledge of mine safety. Sometimes he has to work in water, which may be tainted with chemicals or rise frighteningly high.