by BERNARD CHIKETO
ANOTHER worker has died at Bikita Minerals, a lithium mine in eastern Zimbabwe. Two, in fact, over the same weekend.
The Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG), a watchdog, says the first was Thomas Kaliveni, 40, a dump-truck operator for a contractor. He crashed at a waste dump on June 6th and later died.
The second, an unnamed security guard for another contractor, Rebnek Security, was found unresponsive during a routine inspection the next morning.
The company, Bikita Minerals, confirmed both incidents but did not answer the CNRG’s questions about them.
Such fatalities are not new. The CNRG lists previous ones: a loader crushed by a machine in 2023; a man hit by a truck in dusty conditions in August 2025; a blasting accident that injured three children the same year.
Bikita has been owned by Sinomine Resource Group, a Chinese mining firm, since 2022. The company says investigations are under way.
Workers on shift reportedly paint a grimmer picture.
According to the CNRG, they report that experienced hands have been laid off since June last year, eroding know-how needed for safe operations. Benches and mounds for hauling ore are not built to required standards, they say. Reflectors and visibility markers are scarce. Haulage trucks are having more mishaps.
Zimbabwe wants to be a big name in lithium, a metal crucial for electric-vehicle batteries.
Chinese firms have led the charge, buying up mines and spending billions. But the boom appears to be on shaky safety records.
The National Social Security Authority has powers to inspect and prosecute; the labour ministry can fine. But there are no guarantees that they will act.
The CNRG wants an independent inquiry, a full safety audit and an immediate suspension of operations. It also wants fair compensation for families if poor standards are to blame.
Bikita Minerals did not reply to requests for comment. That silence, as the watchdog notes, does little to inspire confidence.
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