Three illegal miners die

By SANFROSSA MANYINDATHREE illegal miners have died in the last six months at China Non-ferous Metal Company (CNMC) Luanshya Copper Mine.The mine said it had in the past nine months seen an increase in the number of illegal miners who were mostly young people.CNMC Luanshya Copper Mine spokesperson, Sydney Chileya, told the Daily Nation that the company had seen such an increase in illegal mining because most of the oxides were close to the surface and easy to dig out.Mr Chileya said the illegal miners were dying because they were not observing safety measures.“Illegal mining has been a thorny issue to us and we noticed an upswing in the cases the time schools were closed due to Covid-19 and the partial lockddown we had. Young people had nothing to do,” he said.He disclosed that children as young as 12 years old were found among the illegal miners.Mr Chileya explained that the mining firm had noticed a slight improvement after enhancing security patrols.He said the firm had also engaged the Zambia Police who were working well with them to ensure that the premises were secured.Mr Chileya however complained that the process had added costs as the firm doubled the number of private security companies to secure the property.He urged the residents to avoid using unemployment as a scape goat to get involved in illegal mining as it was dangerous.