The document is a declaration from a mining indaba held in Zimbabwe in June 2014. It acknowledges positive contributions from some mining companies but expresses concerns about negative social and environmental impacts and the exclusion of communities from decision-making. It calls on the government to ensure communities benefit from mining, regulate artisanal mining, improve revenue transparency, and legalize informal mining. It also calls on companies and community trusts to increase accountability, benefit sharing, and respect for human rights.

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MIDLANDS PROVINCIAL ALTERNATIVE MINING INDABA, 2014
DECLARATION BY PARTICIPANTS
ADOPTED AT NICHRUT LODGE, SHURUGWU, ZIMBABWE
ON THE 4TH
-5TH
JUNE, 2014
We, the community members from Zvishavane, Shurugwi, Mberengwa, Guruve, Mhondoro-Ngezi as
well as Chiefs, Members of Parliament, Local Authorities and civil society groups, having participated at
the Midlands Provincial Alternative Mining Indaba held at Nichtrut Lodge in Shurugwi District from the
4th – 5th of June 2014 under the theme “Creating Space for Community Voices on Mining”, facilitated by the
Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA);
Acknowledge;
The active and momentous participation of some mining companies operating in the Great
Dyke, namely ZIMPLATS and the China Zimbabwe Sunrise Group of Companies as well as
government agencies such as the Environmental Management Agency, Ministry of Mines and
Mining Development, Members of Parliament from Shurugwi, Zvishavane and Guruve and
Councilors during the two day Midlands Provincial Alternative Mining Indaba,
The ongoing public hearings by the Parliamentary Portifolio Committee on Youth, Indigenisation
and Economic Empowerment on the operations of Community Share Ownership Trusts
established under the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Programme, especially those
established in the Great Dyke,
The economic and social contribution of some mining companies operating in the Great Dyke
and their positive impact on the lives and livelihoods of some communities through employment
creation, contribution to the national fiscus, infrastructural development and provision of other
social services,

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The establishment of Community Share Ownership Schemes by government as a way of
promoting economic and social development in communities living near or affected by mining
operations,
The discussions in government circles on the need to regularize informal or artisanal mining,
especially in the gold mining sector where a lot of youths are involved in the Midlands Province,
Concerned about;
The negative environmental, economic, social and cultural impacts of some mining operations in
the Great Dyke and on communities in the area, caused by some companies that are failing to
respect the rights of communities and deliberately failing to comply with national laws and
policies governing the mining sector and environmental management programmes,
The exclusion of mining communities, particularly in the Great Dyke in the decision and policy
making processes related to mining, despite the abundance and contribution of the Great Dyke
region to the overall national mineral production output,
Failure by some of the management structures of Community Share Ownership Schemes
(CSOT) to reach out to and inform/educate the ordinary villagers and community members
who are the intended beneficiaries of the CSOT’s about their operations, revenue use and
distribution arrangements, projects being implemented and the attendant decision making
processes,
Failure by government to expeditiously reform mining laws and policies, in particular the Mines
and Minerals Act, the draft Minerals Policy and the legalization/formalisation of artisanal mining
given the fact that many people in the Great Dyke are involved in unlicenced gold mining
operations as a source of income generation and are often arrested, harassed or looked down
upon as a menace,
Failure by government to address the inconsistencies and contradictions between the law,
practice and public statements made by some government officials around the implementation of
the indigenisation and economic empowerment programme, as this may cloud the whole
programme and may hinder progress and investment in the Great Dyke,
Failure by some mining companies to make a distinction between Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) activities of the mining company and projects initiated by CSOTs, including
treatment of projects that are only meant to benefit the mining company as part of CSR,
Having deliberated for two days on the positive and negative impacts of mining on communities and
the environment, in the Great Dyke, call on the government to;
Ensure that mining communities benefit from minerals resources in their areas,

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Involve communities in the selection and appointment of persons who constitute the Board of
Trustees of Community Share Ownership Trusts (CSOTs) to ensure meaningful community
ownership and participation,
Ensure that all mining companies in the Great Dyke that have made commitments to establish
and support CSOTs fulfill their promises,
Develop clear and actionable sustainability measures and procedures to guide CSOTs in
designing investment projects that can ensure that some of the funds received by CSOTs are
invested even in community led mining projects or other investment projects to enhance future
economic viability of the whole programme,
Develop a fair and just quota system on distribution of revenues from CSOT activities to ensure
that communities that live closest to the mining area and that are mostly affected by the negative
impacts of mining derive a significant portion of the benefits, as compared to those that are not
immediately affected, although this must be underpinned by the desire to ensure as far as
possible the equitably distribution of national resources,
Promote the development of a leadership code in the management of CSOTs to ensure that
projects do not only benefit the leaders especially some traditional leaders who have already
benefitted from other government programmes (such as boreholes, cars, electricity and other
services) while the majority of the people are yet to benefit,
Develop clear and actionable sustainability measures and procedures to guide CSOTs in
designing investment projects that can ensure that some of the funds received by CSOTs are
invested even in community led mining projects or other investment projects to enhance future
economic viability of the whole programme,
Ensure that Mining Contracts signed by government with mining companies as well as mining
licences issued by government in terms of the Mines and Minerals Act contain clear and time
bound provisions on revenue transparency and accountability, payment of all taxes,
environmental protection, human rights and corporate social responsibility.
Swiftly legalise the operations of artisanal/informal miners (“makorokoza”), the majority of
whom are operating in the Great Dyke, through a new set of mining laws and develop a system
that can enhance the contribution of artisanal/informal miners to community and national socio-
economic development and the fiscus,
Promote the application and Implementation of the “Use it or lose it” principle in the Great
Dyke, especially the gold sector to ensure that other new players especially locals can access
gold mining claims especially those that have been laying idle for years,

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Translate and simplify existing laws regulating the mining sector and the process of acquiring
mining rights/licences to ensure that locals have a clear understanding of the laws and
procedures as well as carrying out educational campaigns in the Great Dyke on acquisition of
mining rights,
Give adequate financial and technical support to small-scale miners and artisanal miners to
enhance production and their contribution to the economy,
Increase investment and support to women empowerment initiatives or programs to ensure
that women also participate in mining activities and decision-making processes in order to uplift
their lives and that of the family,
Adopt and implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in the
extractive sector and more importantly to protect, promote and fulfill human rights in the
mining sector,
We also call on Parliament to;
Continue engaging with their constituencies to understand emerging issues on the extraction of
natural resources especially mining activities. Their Legislative roles need to be supported with
strong evidence from the community members as the most affected,
Ensure that they adequately represent communities without the challenges of being embroiled in
conflict of interest given that the majority of them are involved in mining activities;
Uphold the guiding principles of the Southern African Resource Barometer and produce regular
state of the extractives reports that informs the public and assist them to play their oversight
role on government,
And having deliberated, call on Community Share Ownership Trust management structures
to;
Ensure that communities actively and meaningfully participate in designing development projects
being implemented by the Community Share Ownership Schemes,
Promote transparency and accountability in revenue use, distribution and
management/administration of CSOTs, in particular through production and provision of annual
reports, audited financial reports and progress reports by the CSOT Boards and management
and publicly disclose and disseminate the information in an easily accessible manner,
Embark on community level outreach and educational programmes on the operations of the
CSOTs to ensure that people are aware of the projects, objectives and the management
structures themselves, as well as the project selection criteria and the use of revenues,

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Ensure that women are also appointed into the management structures of CSOTs especially in
the Board of Trustees,
Work closely with experts and government to develop clear and actionable sustainability
measures and procedures to guide CSOTs in designing investment projects that can ensure that
some of the funds received are invested even in community led mining projects or other
investment projects that enhance future economic viability,
Develop a fair and just quota system on distribution of revenues from CSOT activities to ensure
that communities that live closest to the mining area and that are mostly affected by the negative
impacts of mining derive a significant portion of the benefits, than those that are not immediately
affected.
We further call on mining companies to;
Clearly explain to communities and the general public the difference and to separate between
their CSR projects from the projects being implemented by CSOTs,
Respect the rights of workers, communities and provide remedy mechanisms when violations of
environmental, economic, social and cultural rights have occurred,
Develop company policies that are in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and
Human Rights and to carry out due diligence by assessing the potential impacts of their
operations on community rights and mitigation measures,
Adhere to the environmental laws of the country especially their Environmental Impact
Assessment commitments and rehabilitate all mined out areas in the Great Dyke,
Publicly disclose to communities their CSR budgets and investments projects,
Register on the local stock exchange and maintain local bank accounts so that the money is not
transferred to other countries,
Assist small scale and artisanal gold miners and adopt a system that can enhance a win-win
situation on production and marketing of minerals,
Take measures to assess the viability of resuscitating some of the mineral beneficiation projects
in the Great Dyke, many of which are not operating
Increase and promote training of locals at the school of mines to create a pool of workers from
the community so that they can also carry out technical jobs that are often given to people from
other areas or countries,

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Where possible cede some of their unused claims to CSOTs or organized artisanal/informal
miners.
We hereby acknowledge our commitment to the above issues and pledge to support the government of
Zimbabwe, Mining Companies and the CSOTs to ensure the above-mentioned demands are met.
END
For more Information:
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The Provincial Alternative Mining Indaba was supported by: