By: adf magazine

In Zimbabwe, the landscape is increasingly scarred by large-scale mining operations, with public anger mounting over the environmental and social toll. Local communities and activists accuse Chinese mining companies, which control an estimated 90% of the country's mining industry, of committing serious crimes with impunity, including environmental pollution, forced evictions, and violence.

This outrage was recently ignited by journalist Tendai Mbofana, who shared a video showing a Chinese operation excavating perilously close to the vital Cactus Port Dam in Redcliff. He condemned the activities as "appalling" and "reprehensible," warning of the existential threat they pose to the Kwekhe River's ecosystem and the farmers who depend on it.

Residents report a recurring nightmare of massive, disruptive blasts and suffocating dust, with fears that unchecked mining will lead to irreversible contamination and siltation of the water source. This, they argue, will destroy agricultural livelihoods and threaten local food security for generations.

Critics, including the Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG), state that these foreign operations often occur in sensitive environments, circumvent regulations, and lack transparency. Social commentator Rodreck Kudakwashe labeled the activities "daylight environmental terrorism," accusing Chinese firms of systematically stripping the country's resources under the guise of development.

The situation in Zimbabwe is framed as part of a broader continental pattern, where China's resource-for-infrastructure model raises alarms about exploitation. The opaque partnership between the state and Chinese entities is widely seen as leaving communities disenfranchised and ecosystems degraded.