Rights Group Demand Suspension Of Bikita Minerals Operations Following Two Deaths

The Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG) has called for Bikita Minerals (Private) Limited to immediately suspend operations and for an independent investigation into two deaths involving workers at the mine over the weekend of 6 to 7 June 2026.

The company confirmed the death of dump truck operator Thomas Kaliveni, 40, employed by a contractor, following an incident at a waste dump site, and the separate death of a security guard employed by an independent security firm.

In a statement on Tuesday, 9 June 2026, CNRG also demanded a comprehensive independent occupational health and safety audit of Bikita Minerals’ operations, with a particular focus on the Quarry and Mining Department.

It called for a task force made up of the National Social Security Authority, the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, and the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development to assess compliance with workplace safety regulations.

CNRG said the families of the deceased should receive fair compensation if poor safety standards are found to have contributed to the fatalities.

“The reported death of another worker cannot be treated as a routine workplace incident,” reads the statement.

“Every fatality represents a profound human tragedy and should trigger urgent action to identify and eliminate the conditions that place workers at risk.

“As Zimbabwe positions itself as a strategic player in the global lithium industry, respect for workers’ rights, occupational safety, and human dignity must be non-negotiable.

“The country’s mineral wealth cannot be built on unsafe working conditions and preventable workplace deaths.”

CNRG said the latest deaths are not the first at Bikita Minerals since the mine was taken over by the Chinese company Sinomine Resource Group.

It claimed that on 23 October 2023, Nelson Musendekwa, 28, of Mafuka Village under Chief Marozva, was loading tantalite into one-tonne bags with seven others when a machine fell on him, killing him on the spot.

In another incident on 22 August 2025, Farai Murimoga Mutsvange, who worked for WGB Kinsey and Company, a subcontractor at Bikita Minerals, was struck and killed by a dump truck while walking to his vehicle in dusty conditions.

Then, in 2025, a blasting incident at the mine left three children seriously injured.

Related:

Dump Truck Driver And Security Guard Die At Bikita Minerals Mine Zimbabwe’s Maternal And Neonatal Mortality Crisis Persists