Soldiers evict illegal gold miners from Chimanimani forests

Soldiers have thwarted illegal artisanal gold miners who had maintained a two-decade stronghold on government-owned Allied Timbers Tarka Forest Reserve – a commercial pine tree plantation in Chimanimani – in a clean sweep that suggests a previous lack of political will in addressing the menace.

The army reportedly moved in in April and has kept it clean for nearly two months, putting an end to an overly aggressive form of illegal mining that was washing away the entire landscape, inflicting irreversible environmental damage.

The army did not issue a statement on the development.