RUFUNSA GOLD MINERS CRY FOR BOREHOLES

By JOHN KOMBE GOLD mining cooperatives in Rufunsa have bemoaned the lack of water in mining sites and have asked the government to urgently sink boreholes in selected mining sites as promised. In an interview, Pokela Gold Mining Cooperative vice chairman, Josias Malunga said that the four gold mining cooperatives were finding it difficult to carry out their operations due to lack of water sources in some sites. He disclosed that the government through ZCCM-IH promised to sink boreholes last year, but had not done so up to now. Mr Malunga noted that the process of separating gold from the alluvial required a lot of water and as such it was important to urgently sink boreholes in selected areas so as to increase productivity. He said that the miners were relying on unreliable water sources that dry up during the dry season. He was however hopeful that ZCCM-IH would soon sink the boreholes as promised. In his view, the sinking of boreholes would help the miners to carry out the sieving of the alluvial with ease. He said that at the moment the miners were targeting areas where water was available, but noted that this was not effective enough to guarantee maximum productivity. And Chimwetu Gold Mining Cooperative chairman Emmanuel Tembo observed that the lack of water was a serious drawback. He said that gold deposits had been depleted in most areas where water was available and hence the need to explore other areas that may have more deposits, but lacked water. He therefore appealed to the government to sink the boreholes which it promised a year ago. He said that this would go a long way in enhancing the operations of the cooperative miners.