By Brighton ChisevaRENCO – When I was a young boy learning to herd cattle, Chebundi Mountain was our playground. The mountain cleaves Chiponda and Muvango villages, and for us, it was everything. Its summit is a flatland where we scraped together a football pitch, and its sloping sides were our adventure rails.On the other side of the mountain stood a famous rock called Svimborume, facing Chiponda Village. From an outcrop above it, we could see most of our village, Muzenda, Chitorido, Muchibwa, and the sprawling farmlands of Mushawasha.Back then, no one knew we were playing on top of gold. If we had known then, we could have used the energy we spent on playing to pan instead.The situation is oddly familiar. It reminds me of the diamond rush in Chiadzwa, where locals once used diamonds as pebbles in slings to kill birds or decorated their homes without knowing their value. Here, we played football on a mountain that held gold beneath our feet.Chebundi Mountain sits within Renco Mine’s claim. We grew up hearing theories that the gold there was too deep for open cast mining, which is why the mine operated underground. The mountain also houses the mine’s Atlas shaft, used to lower heavy machinery into the depths. Gold rushes did happen, but they were small and localised. People panned along the Tetenu and Nyamaunga rivers and in the Manguma mountain range that seperates Chiponda and Muzondo Villages. But that was subsistence, mainly a response to famine, not frenzy. Arrests were made by police, but the mine authorities never seemed bothered. A few local guys would scratch around Chebundi, but it was minimal.Today, that mountain, every path, every cave, every feature I once knew by heart has been turned upside down.The recent gold rush has drawn people from across Masvingo province and beyond. They dig and pack ore, a muddy mixture of rock and earth, then descend using the very cattle paths we once used to reach Chiponda village. There, they hide the sacks in contour ridges and other secluded spots before going back for more. Trucks are hired to collect the bags, charging US$3toUS3toUS$5 per sack. In the past, panners would sift gold in rivers using water. Now, the ore is trucked to the Gororo area in Chivi and other local mills, where grinding machines separate the gold.At some point, everyone became a panner, teachers, nurses, shopkeepers, the who’s who of our area all tried their luck on the mountain. Some got enough to put food on the table; others had a little to spare. The gold rush brought sudden life to Muchibwa Shopping Centre. Panners from outside the area would stop there to buy food, and many spent hours in the bars, drinking while waiting for their shifts. Even local police officers were not spared; they reportedly received tips from panners and transporters, looking the other way when needed.The economic pulse of the area lifted. Every Tom, Dick could go up the mountain and come back with something. Around five milling centres have now sprung up in surrounding areas, giving panners a choice of where to take their ore for processing. Transporters have also thrived, from heavy duty trucks to small vehicles, each carrying whatever load they could manage.The new panners have no place to sleep. They endure rainy nights in the open. Some have invaded abandoned homes. Locals are afraid to confront them, haunted by tales of mashurugwi gangs groups known for violence and disregard for human life.I spoke to former councillor Siyai Neshanje during a recent visit home. He told me he woke up one day to find strangers occupying a disused flat less than 50 metres from his homestead. “I woke up to see people in that flat; they occupied it like it’s theirs. I was afraid to confront them. You know how they are. Now they continue using it. What can I do? They are just people trying to make ends meet,” said Neshanje.Violence has already touched the rush. Recently, a local panner was shot and injured by Renco Mine security officers. There are also rumours of a missing gun allegedly taken from the security guards during a confrontation with panners.Beyond the fear of violence, residents worry about the environmental wreckage, deep pits, and eroded soils. Many now call on authorities to allow organised mining so that locals can benefit from their own resource.The local headman, Muchibwa, said the community is worried about how the situation is being managed. “The area is under Renco Mine’s claim, but it would be wise for the mine to allow locals to pan using best practices,” he said.Ward 25 Councillor Tarusenga Mapamba echoed the sentiment, saying it was difficult to stop the panning simply by using security agents. “It is difficult for the mine to stop the community from panning. Continued catandmouse games will lead to unnecessary conflict and could cost lives,” said Mapamba. He proposed that the mine set up milling machines so locals can bring their ore for milling a model similar to Tongaat Hulett’s arrangement with outgrower sugarcane farmers in Chiredzi. “Once locals are involved, they will control others and ensure sustainable mining that does not harm the community,” he said.The gold rush has now spread along the mountain range in Chiponda village eastward, and westward to Maramba and Nyajena areas. What was once a place of childhood joy sledding down mutondo bark canoes and kicking a ball on a flat mountain summit is now a scarred landscape of desperate digging. The mountain that fed our games now feeds a gold rush, and the people who call it home are left hoping that this time, they will not be left behind.
