By Brighton Chiseva
BIKITA – Two people died in separate incidents at Bikita Minerals over the weekend, prompting renewed scrutiny of safety practices and incident reporting procedures at Zimbabwe’s largest lithium mining operation.
The deaths, which occurred less than 24 hours apart, involved a dump truck operator employed by a mining contractor and a security guard working for a contracted security company.
In a statement issued on June 8, 2026, Bikita Minerals said the first incident occurred on June 6 at around 7:45pm, involving Mr Thomas Kaliveni (40), a dump truck operator employed by WGB Kinsey & Company.
“Bikita Minerals regrets to confirm two separate incidents involving employees of independent contracting companies working at our operations. Incident one is a fatal accident involving a dump truck operator. On 6 June 2026, at approximately 19:45 hours, a fatal accident occurred involving Mr Thomas Kaliveni (40), a dump truck operator employed by WGB Kinsey & Company, one of our independent contractors. Mr Kaliveni sustained injuries in an incident at a waste dump site and subsequently succumbed to those injuries,” reads part of the statement.
While Bikita Minerals expressed condolences and emphasized that both deceased individuals were employees of independent contractors, allegations have emerged regarding the mine’s handling of the fatal accident involving the dump truck driver.
The mining company said Kaliveni sustained fatal injuries during an incident at a waste dump site and later succumbed to those injuries.
However, information obtained from sources familiar with the incident suggests that Kaliveni died at the scene after the dump truck he was operating overturned while offloading waste material.
Sources said Kaliveni was driving dump truck S10 and had proceeded to the designated waste dump area to dispose of waste material. While reversing toward the tipping point, the truck reportedly became unstable and overturned sideways down the dump slope.
The driver was allegedly thrown from the vehicle and subsequently struck by rocks and waste material dislodged during the rollover.
Workers nearby reportedly rushed to rescue him by removing debris that had trapped him. Despite these efforts, he succumbed to his injuries.
According to an internal incident account seen by this publication, operations at the waste dump area were immediately suspended and the scene secured while management, emergency personnel and authorities were notified.
The fatal accident has also generated controversy following allegations from sources who claim mine management attempted to influence how the circumstances surrounding the death were recorded.
Sources alleged that senior Chinese management personnel from Bikita Minerals were among the first officials to arrive at the accident scene.
They allegedly sought to have police remove Kaliveni’s body from the scene and portray the death as having occurred while he was being transported to hospital rather than at the accident site.
The same sources further alleged that mine officials did not immediately notify officials from the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development as required under standard accident reporting procedures, instead waiting until the following morning before filing a report.
These allegations could not be independently verified at the time of publication, and Bikita Minerals had not publicly responded to the claims.
Contacted for comment on the matter, Masvingo Provincial Police Spokesperson Inspector Kudakwashe Dehwa said he was yet to receive the report of the incident.
He however said it was against the law to fail to report such an incident within 24 hours.
Contacted for comment on the incident and to ascertain the time it was reported to the Ministry of Mines, Masvingo Provincial Mines Director Marsha Muzira referred questions to director for communication and advocacy in the ministry of mines and mining development Wilfred Munetsi.
Contacted by TellZim News, Munetsi asked the reporter to send questions in writing and said he would respond the following day after getting information and clearance.
In a separate and unrelated incident, a security guard employed by Rebnek Security was found dead while on duty during the early hours of Sunday, June 7.
According to information provided by sources and contained in an incident report, the guard had reportedly been observed performing his duties normally during routine supervisory inspections earlier in the night.
His supervisor is said to have conducted two inspections during the shift and found no signs of illness or distress.
However, during a third inspection round at approximately 4:00am, the supervisor reportedly discovered the guard lying unresponsive at his post.
Authorities were subsequently notified and a police report was filed.
The cause of death had not yet been established at the time of publication, although preliminary reports suggest it may have been a suspected sudden death.
The company stated that investigations into the dump truck accident were ongoing and that further details would not be released while investigative processes continued.
“Out of respect for the families and the ongoing investigative processes, no further details will be released at this stage,” the company said.
Bikita Minerals also expressed condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of both deceased workers.
“The safety, health and wellbeing of everyone working at our operations remain a core priority,” the statement added.
The latest fatalities have once again drawn attention to safety concerns at the lithium mining operation.
Bikita Minerals has experienced a number of serious workplace incidents in recent years.
In August 2025, a dump truck operator was reportedly killed after being struck by another dump truck while at work.
During the same month, three schoolchildren related to mine employees were reportedly injured after being struck by blasting debris.
In October 2023, a plant operator died after becoming trapped in machinery he was operating. Reports at the time indicated that his body remained trapped for several hours before recovery equipment could be sourced.
Other incidents reported at the mine have included serious workplace injuries resulting in permanent disability.
