Zimbabwe: Chinese Mining Project Threatens Local Water Supply
JEKESAI NJIKIZANA/AFP via Getty Images
6 Jul 2021
A Chinese-owned company plans to push forward a coal mining project in western Zimbabwe despite protests by local residents that the activity threatens to contaminate their natural water supply, Voice of America (VOA) reported Monday.
The Zimbabwean government recently granted Beifa Investment, a Chinese-owned mining company, special permission to search for coal in Zimbabwe’s western Hwange district, located within the confines of Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe’s largest wildlife sanctuary. Beifa Investment began setting up heavy machinery at a targeted mining site in the Hwange village of Dinde months ago ahead of the project’s formal launch. Dinde residents have protested the planned coal mining since then, arguing the activity will negatively affect Dinde’s unique ecology, pour pollutants into a local water source, and possibly displace over 600 villagers.