Small-scale miners at the Matala Gold Mine in Mumbwa district are speaking out against alleged harassment by state police and a foreign national.
The miners claim they’ve been forced away from the mine, despite forming cooperatives as instructed by the government.
“We’re frustrated with the government’s double standards,” said one miner. “They told us to form cooperatives, but now they’re denying us the chance to work on ‘our’ mine, our only source of income.”
The miners are calling for an investigation into the standoff between them and the foreign national, arguing they’re being treated unfairly. “We shouldn’t be treated like second-class citizens over minerals that belong to us,” they said.
The Zambian government has yet to comment on the matter through the Central Province administration or the Ministry of Mines.
