COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENTAL AUDIT REPORT PENHALONGA

The report details the findings of a 16-month community environmental audit in Penhalonga, Zimbabwe, conducted between 2017 and 2018. It identifies significant legal and environmental violations by two gold mining companies: Redwing Mine, which is linked to air pollution from tailings dumps, water pollution from sewage and chemical runoff, and labor rights violations; and DTZ-OZGEO, which caused extensive degradation of the Mutare River, land abandonment, and cultural desecration. The document also notes a lack of transparency regarding new diamond mining prospects by the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) and proposes specific environmental and social remedies.

• Redwing Mine's tailings dumps cause severe air pollution, affecting approximately 700 families, particularly during windy conditions. While the Environment Management Agency ordered the mine to use dust suppression, the community considers current water spraying an ineffective long-term solution.
• Redwing Mine has caused water pollution in the Mutare and Nyahuku Rivers through the discharge of mine water and the failure of its waste system, which allows raw sewage to flow into the river systems.
• Mine workers at Redwing Mine reported labor rights violations, including inconsistent payment of salaries and a lack of required protective clothing such as gumboots and overalls.
• DTZ-OZGEO caused significant degradation of the Mutare River by creating artificial dams and changing the river's course more than ten times, which diminished the community's ability to use the river for gardening and affected local biodiversity, such as the Kingfisher.
• DTZ-OZGEO left behind unrehabilitated land, including open trenches and gullies, which pose safety risks to the community and have become targets for artisanal gold miners; one community member drowned in a pit in 2016.
• DTZ-OZGEO disregarded local cultural practices by excavating the bodies of infants buried along the riverbed and failing to rebury them according to community norms.
• The Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) informed the community of diamond discoveries in March 2017 but failed to provide sufficient information on the project or its potential impacts, and the Environment Management Agency has not responded to information requests.

APA

Natural Justice (n.d.). COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENTAL AUDIT REPORT PENHALONGA. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Penhalonga-Community-Environmental-Audit-Report-2-compressed.pdf

Chicago

Natural Justice. COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENTAL AUDIT REPORT PENHALONGA. n.d. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Penhalonga-Community-Environmental-Audit-Report-2-compressed.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Natural Justice |title=COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENTAL AUDIT REPORT PENHALONGA |url=https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Penhalonga-Community-Environmental-Audit-Report-2-compressed.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{naturaljusticendcommunity, author = {{Natural Justice}}, title = {{COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENTAL AUDIT REPORT PENHALONGA}}, institution = {Natural Justice}, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Penhalonga-Community-Environmental-Audit-Report-2-compressed.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }