Rock weighing 40kg ‘flies’ into Bindura maize field

Bindura’s Batanai Village was gripped with anxiety, murmurings after a rock weighing about 40 kilograms landed in a maize field.

Residents allege the rock dropped as if it were a meteor from from space and heavily landed into a maize field.

The rock is said to have come from nearby Freda Rebecca gold mine around 6:30 in the morning.

However, in an interview with ZBC, Freda Rebecca Mine General Manager Elikem Hove disputed the claims, adding rocks do not travel over 150 metres following a blast, attributing the rock to illegal miners conducting blasts very close to the area.

Batanai Village is situated opposite Freda Rebecca Gold Mine as well as the infamous Kitsiyatota illegal mining area.

Incidents of flying rocks from mine blasts are not unheard of in Zimbabwe.

In 2019, Center for National Resource and Governance reported that a Pangoula Farm woman on the outskirts of Harare died when a huge stone from a Lafarge quarry blast bore through the roof and struck her on the head.

Shupikai Chatsina (36) who was in the kitchen died on the spot while her aunt was injured after a rock flew from Lafarge Cement, quarry mine ripped through the roof and hit her in the head.

Lafarge Cement Corporate Affairs Manager Tawanda Njerere confirmed the incident and said investigations by the police and the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development are underway.

“It is true, there is a lady who died and another one injured when our contractor, Afri Mining was blasting at our quarry mining site near Pangoula Farm.

“We did the necessary notifications to the Ministry of Mines and immediate action was taken. We are now waiting for the report.”

ZBC/ Zwnews