Eureka Mine builds homes for relocated residents
Story by Tapiwa Machemedze
EUREKA Gold Mine is on an expansion drive with surrounding communities benefitting from its inclusive development after being relocated to new homes.
Ambuya Rita Nyakabawu of Mbome Farm in Guruve is walking with a spring in her step.
The 71-year-old grandmother cannot hide her joy after being relocated from Mazhambe village to Mbome where she is now living in a brand-new house.
These are some of the benefits of the Eureka Gold Mine’s expansion drive which has seen surrounding communities getting a facelift.
“I am grateful to the gold mine staff. I had an unbearable house, but if I get a visitor I am now glad to show them my house. The mine took our land but they gave us even better plots. Now we have a new life, a spanking brand new life because of the mine. They approached us and we had a very good consultation process and they treated us very well,” said Ms Nyakabawu.
Five families have so far been relocated to three-bedroomed houses from Mazhambe Village and Eureka Mine is determined to continue ploughing back to the community as it expands.
“We don’t do these relocations randomly. We help our communities, we even employed people from these families and hired a local contractor, we also have plans to upgrade the school at Mbome Farm because it is currently a satellite school. The mine also saw that we have relocated the people far from the clinic and intend to build a clinic in conjunction with Guruve RDC,” said Eureka Mine Human Capital Support Service Manager, Mr Tinago Tinago.
The government commissioned the new homes last week, commending the gold miner’s sincere corporate social responsibility programme.
Guruve Assistant District Development Co-ordinator, Mr Innocent Mutsvenguri said, “We have been working well with the mine, they consult us and the local leadership and our Chief Chipuriro, so this is commendable. If other companies take such an approach this will enhance development.”
As part of its phase four expansion project, Eureka Mine has ramped up gold production to between 140 and 150 kilogrammes per month, up from 100 kilogrammes.
The mine plans to set up a 10-megawatt solar plant next year with excess power from the company which needs six megawatts for operations being fed into the national grid.
Eureka Mine was revived in 2021 and is one of the success stories of the ‘Zimbabwe is open for business mantra’ after an investment of US$50 million by Padenga through its subsidiary, Dallaglio to resuscitate operations.
