Source: Govt lifts Phoenix Prince Mine suspension in Bindura – herald
Fidelis Munyoro
Chief Court Reporter
The clanging of machinery and the restless anticipation of artisanal miners may soon return to Phoenix Prince Mine after the Government lifted the suspension order that had frozen operations around the contested mining area in Bindura.
For weeks, uncertainty had hung heavily over the mine shafts and ore dumps scattered across Mining Lease 21, where regulatory battles and legal wrangles disrupted livelihoods and deepened tensions between mining operators and small-scale miners.
Now, in a development likely to reshape activity at the gold-rich site, the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development has cleared the way for the gradual resumption of operations at Botha Mine 1-4 and the Mutapa Resources, Freda Rebecca Gold Mine Lease 21 area trading as Phoenix Prince Mine.
Project managers, Navid Incorporated (Private) Limited, immediately moved to reassure miners and stakeholders that the reopening would prioritise both safety and livelihoods.
In a notice issued after the ministry’s decision, the company described the lifting of the suspension as “a positive step towards restoring livelihoods and improving safety for artisanal miners.”
The statement signalled cautious optimism in a community where hundreds of miners depend on ore-processing activities for survival.
Navid Incorporated said it had already completed the Environmental Impact Assessment application, consultation and review process, and was now waiting for the Environmental Management Agency to issue the required certificate before broader operations could resume on Mining Lease 21, Phoenix Prince Mine.
But the reopening will not happen all at once. Instead, the first phase will focus on the removal of ore dumps by artisanal miners operating under permits issued through the Ministry of Mines.
“With the upliftment of the suspension order, the Ministry of Mines is now able to issue ore removal permits for Phoenix Prince Mine,” the company said.
Under the arrangement, artisanal miners will be invited in phases to collect ore dumps for processing at designated sites, a move expected to restore some economic activity in the troubled mining zone. At the same time, the company tightened control over access to the site, warning that only authorised personnel would be allowed onto Mining Lease 21, Phoenix Prince Mine premises.
Navid Incorporated also sought to draw a sharp distinction between Phoenix Prince Mine operations and the controversial Botha 1 to 4 workings, saying fencing and demarcation of the mining area had already been completed to avoid further confusion.
Artisanal miners whose workings fall within the Phoenix Prince Mine boundary have been urged to formally register with the company. In a warning likely to unsettle some operators on the ground, the company said any unregistered infrastructure would be removed within 14 days, arguing that such structures would be treated as part of Botha operations because of the “unapproved siting of works plans.”
Yet even as miners prepare to return to work, another battle is intensifying behind the scenes. Mutapa Gold Resources has insisted that a separate Government directive ordering the removal of allegedly illegal infrastructure at the disputed site remains fully in force and legally unchallenged.
In an urgent letter addressed to Side Electricals (Private) Limited, trading as Botha Mine, Mutapa Gold said it was necessary to “clarify and place on record” the legal effect of ministry directives issued on May 21 and May 22.
According to the company, the Provincial Mining Director ordered the removal of infrastructure erected without an approved siting of works plan after Mutapa Gold invoked provisions of Section 240 of the Mines and Minerals Act.
Mutapa Gold argued that despite ongoing litigation surrounding an earlier ministry decision made on May 6, no legal action had been taken against the latest directive.
“To avoid confusion or misleading stakeholders,” the company declared, “the decision dated May 21, 2026 has not been challenged in any way.”
The company further stressed that no court order had suspended the directive and that no appeal had been lodged before the Administrative Court in terms of Section 237(6) of the Mines and Minerals Act.
“Accordingly, there is currently no decision of the Administrative Court challenging either the decision of 6 May 2026 or the decision of 21 May 2026,” the letter reads.
Mutapa Gold also insisted that any removal of infrastructure at the mine must be coordinated with the company’s security personnel or teams appointed by project managers as part of enforcing the ministry directive. The latest developments expose the erection of infrastructure on land belonging to Mining Lease 21, where gold-rich ground has become the centre of encroachment, regulatory intervention and mounting legal pressure.
For the artisanal miners waiting anxiously for the EIA, the reopening represents something more immediate — the possibility of returning to work after weeks of disruption, uncertainty and lost income. By the close of business last Friday, neither Botha Mine nor its managing director, Mr T. Hlongwane, had publicly responded to Mutapa Gold’s latest clarification.
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