THE mining affairs board is expected to make a determination by mid-next month after small scale miners objected to the issuance of all Exclusive Prospecting Orders (EPOs) to potential mining investors.

Early this year, Government through the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development gazetted about 40 EPOs across the country following applications from prospective foreign and local investors.

In a recent interview in Bulawayo, Mines and Mining Development Deputy Minister, Engineer Polite Kambamura, said small-scale miners will be allowed to peg mining claims in areas that are under EPOs.

“We are coming up with modalities to see how best we can structure it (EPO) because it’s like now most mining areas are covered by these EPOs that were applied for and legally, the moment one applies for an EPO and it is gazetted, no one is allowed to peg in that area, even before the EPO has been approved by the Mining Affairs Board,” Kambamura told journalists in Bulawayo recently.

“So, we are working on a modality or trying to restructure the formalities in order to allow our miners to be able to peg in the EPOs. For example, an EPO holder will apply maybe for 60 000 hectares and there is a small scale miner who wants to peg a 10 hectares mining block. This is just a drop in the ocean.

“We will talk to EPO holders so that they allow our miners to peg once we have finalised the processes of issuing their EPOs. We have started working on that already. We think by mid-next month, we should be done.”

“The EPOs were gazetted in February this year. So, the process is that after gazetting, it has to circulate for about 30 days. After the circulation, the applicants will be called by the mining affairs board together with any objectors if there are any but in this case all the EPOs were objected, they were a lot of objections throughout,” he said.

The Deputy Minister said Government was now in the process of engaging the EPO applicants and the people who made objections to the applications to come forward and make their submissions.

“We are now in the process of calling the applicants and the people who objected to come forward, sit around a table and indicate why they objected in the presence of the applicants and the mining affairs board will make a decision,” he said.

“Currently, there is no decision that has been made by the mining affairs board . . . and we think by mid next month we should be done with the issuing of EPOs.”

Asked about the reasons for objections, he said small-scale miners were used to pegging anywhere openly and mining wherever they feel like.

“So, they feel now that the coming in of EPOs will stop them from pegging and mining their claims,” said Eng Kambamura.

During his keynote address at the Mine Entra Conference last week, the Deputy Minister noted that Zimbabwe was under explored as it has not been subjected to modern exploration techniques for new discoveries. He, however, said exploration cannot be done without the EPOs coming into play. At the same time exploration is being done, Government would need to allow miners to peg.

“And if one is coming to peg, we won’t be allowing someone to peg 20 mining blocks at one place, that’s large scale. For small-scale maybe it will be one by 10ha block, which will not have much effect to the EPO applicant holder,” said Eng Kambamura.

He said most small-scale mining claims were presently covered by EPOs that have been applied for and the moment one applies for the EPO and it is gazetted, no one is allowed to peg in that area even before the EPO has been approved by the mining affairs board.

“So, we are working the modalities or trying to restructure the formalities in order to allow our miners to be able to peg the EPOs.

“For example, an EPO holder will apply maybe for 60 000 hectares and there is a small-scale miner who wants to peg a 10ha mining bloc, this (10ha bloc) is just a drop in the ocean,” Eng Kambamura said.

“We will talk to the EPO holders just to allow our miners to peg whilst we are finalising the processes of issuing EPOs.”

It is believed that exploration activities would go a long way in assisting the opening of new mines, expansion of existing operations and resuscitation of old mines leading to increased production, creation of employment and general improvement of living standards of communities and Zimbabwe at large.