Zimbabwe’s platinum boom: Where is the wealth?

The metal is generating billions, but mining communities say basic services have failed to keep pace.

Zimplats operates one of Zimbabwe’s largest platinum mining operations in the mineral-rich Great Dyke region [Enos Denhere/Al Jazeera]

Mimosa, Zimbabwe – Zimbabwe’s platinum industry is generating billions of dollars, but residents in mining communities say roads, schools, water and other basic services have failed to keep pace with the wealth extracted from beneath their land.

Platinum prices hit an all-time high of $2,923 an ounce on January 26 during a broader precious metals rally and continued concerns over the platinum supply, according to the World Platinum Investment Council.

For Zimbabwe, home to the world’s second largest known deposits of platinum group metals (PGMs) after South Africa, the price surge offers an opportunity to increase revenue from a sector central to the economy. Mining accounts for about 75 percent of the country’s exports and about 14.5 percent of its gross domestic product, according to the International Trade Administration in the United States.

The mining sector generated a record $8.5bn in export earnings in 2025, up from $5.9bn the previous year, according to John Musekiwa, then-president of the Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe. He said the increase was driven by strong output and favourable prices, particularly for gold and PGMs.

But in communities surrounding some of the country’s biggest platinum operations, residents said the wealth extracted from beneath their land has not translated into adequate roads, schools, water supplies and other basic services.

In Mhondoro-Ngezi, one of Zimbabwe’s major platinum-producing areas, that tension is visible on the ground.

A rich mineral belt, struggling communities

The Great Dyke, a geological formation stretching across central Zimbabwe, contains extensive deposits of PGMs. Zimplats operates mines, concentrators and processing facilities in the Mhondoro-Ngezi district there.

Inside the mining complex, ore is processed in modern facilities, and heavy trucks move between mines and plants. Outside, residents of Turf, Mamina, Murambwa and nearby villages said infrastructure has struggled to keep pace with the area’s growth.

Goats and cattle graze at a dump site in Turf, Zimbabwe, near platinum-mining areas [Enos Denhere/Al Jazeera]

Ernest Denhere, headman of Denhere village in Ward 3, said mining companies should leave a lasting legacy in the communities where they operate.

“We call upon Zimplats and other mines to build a road from Kadoma/Kwekwe to Turf, Benhura, Mamina, Murambwa and Kadhani, linking to the Harare-Masvingo highways,” Denhere said.

Ward 3 Councillor Emmah Chikwai said some children travel long distances to reach secondary school.

“Children from Jompani, Majoki, Maleti and Makwavarara walk between 15km and 25km [9 to 15.5 miles] to reach Musinambi Secondary School,” she said. “My appeal is for the mines to assist in setting up a satellite secondary school in Makwavarara.”

Schools, water and livelihoods under pressure

During a September 7 visit, Al Jazeera saw pupils at Turf Primary School learning under trees as rising enrolment strained the school’s facilities.

Nearby, women and young men searched through piles of waste for plastic they could sell. Cattle and goats moved among the rubbish.

For Sakina Lice, collecting plastic is how she supports her family.

“I have 11 children and nine grandchildren. Picking up plastics is the only way I survive. When I resell them, I can make maybe $20 a month,” she said.

“I am the breadwinner. My husband is late, so it is just hand to mouth. My wish is for the mine to empower women, so we can start projects and support our families.”

Residents also raised concerns about the Ngwazani River, about 100 metres (330ft) from the dump site, alleging that sewage from the mining area has entered the waterway and affected its use for household needs and small gardens.

Edson Mabure, whose family was relocated as mining activities expanded, said the river has become a problem for residents in his new community.

“Our village was where the mine is today, so we were relocated. From our new village, I cross the Ngwazani River, which is now flooded with sewage coming from the mine,” he said.

“Since the mine started operating, there is nothing tangible that has been done to leave a lasting legacy for the community. I don’t know whether the responsibility lies with the council or Zimplats.”

Agnes Handidikundiona, a resident of a platinum-mining community in Zimbabwe, stands at the Ngwazani River in Turf with her children [Enos Denhere/Al Jazeera]

Agnes Handidikundiona, whom Al Jazeera met crossing the river with her children, said residents once relied on it for household activities and gardens.

“We are facing a serious challenge because the water is no longer clean,” she said. “Before the sewage spill, we used to use this water for domestic purposes, such as washing clothes and watering our nutritional gardens.”

She said flooding also has prevented some children from reaching school.

“Children from many villages cross here to go to school. Sometimes when the river is flooded, they cannot go to school. We need a footbridge here,” she said.

Ward 11 Councillor Nhomboka Kurebwa Javangwe said the area’s population has increased as mine workers and their families have moved in.

He said Zimplats has built classrooms and houses but demand continues to outstrip available facilities. He called for the company to build and operate a primary school.

Javangwe also said local councillors have limited direct access to the company.

“We do not have direct access to the mine to raise the concerns of our people,” he said, adding that only the council chairperson was authorised to meet with Zimplats officials.

Mines point to community investment

The same concerns are being raised in other platinum-producing areas.

In Shurugwi, home to the Unki Platinum Mine, residents have called for more investment in local infrastructure.

“I call upon Unki to consider assisting with classroom blocks for schools, water and sanitation, and roads in Shurugwi town,” said Bulle Madzitire, chairman of the Shurugwi Residents Association.

In nearby Zvishavane, Kamino Simango, chairman of the Zvishavane Residents Association, said the Mimosa Platinum Mine should focus more on infrastructure benefitting the wider community.

Unki told Al Jazeera that it has invested an average of $1.5m a year in community development over the past five years, covering education, healthcare, water and sanitation, agriculture and infrastructure.

Its public relations manager, Evelyn Mawimba, said the mine has built 63 boreholes, supported 32 schools through its STEP-UP programme and contributed $2.75m towards land purchases and development of the Impali housing estate.

Unki also pays about $130,000 a year in municipal levies to the Shurugwi Town Council and contributes about $850,000 annually to the Tongogara Rural District Council, Mawimba said.

Mimosa did not respond to Al Jazeera’s questions despite several attempts to contact the company.

Al Jazeera also contacted the chairperson of the Mhondoro-Ngezi Rural District Council, Alderman Ephraim Pepukai Chengeta, about Zimplats’s contributions and development plans. He promised to respond but did not return calls or messages. The council’s chief executive officer, Itai A Mawonde, asked for the questions in writing.

Zimplats’s head of corporate affairs, Hama Saburi, also said he would respond but did not do so by publication.

For residents of Zimbabwe’s platinum belt, the demands are straightforward: better roads, schools, water and other services in communities living alongside some of the country’s most valuable mines.

“What is beneath our land speaks volumes,” Denhere said. “We need to see a lasting legacy for our communities.”

这种金属创造了数十亿美元的收入，但矿区社区表示，基本服务未能跟上发展步伐。

Zimplats在矿产资源丰富的Great Dyke地区运营着津巴布韦最大的铂金矿开采业务之一。[Enos Denhere/半岛电视台]

津巴布韦米莫萨——津巴布韦的铂金产业创造了数十亿美元的收入，但矿业社区的居民表示，道路、学校、水和其他基本服务的发展速度未能跟上从他们土地下开采出的财富。

据世界铂金投资协会称，在贵金属整体上涨和对铂金供应持续担忧的背景下，1月26日铂金价格创下每盎司2923美元的历史新高。

对于拥有世界第二大铂族金属（PGM）矿藏（仅次于南非）的津巴布韦而言，铂族金属价格飙升为其提供了一个增加经济支柱产业收入的良机。据美国国际贸易管理局的数据，采矿业约占津巴布韦出口总额的75%，约占其国内生产总值的14.5%。

据时任津巴布韦矿业商会主席约翰·穆塞基瓦称，2025年津巴布韦矿业出口收入创下85亿美元的纪录，高于上年的59亿美元。他表示，增长主要得益于强劲的产量和有利的价格，尤其是黄金和铂族金属的价格。

但在一些美国最大的铂金矿区周围的社区，居民们表示，从他们的土地下开采出来的财富并没有转化为足够的道路、学校、供水和其他基本服务。

在津巴布韦主要的铂金产区之一蒙多罗-恩格齐，这种紧张局势显而易见。

矿产资源丰富的地带，却也是生活困顿的社区。

大岩墙是一处横跨津巴布韦中部的地质构造，蕴藏着丰富的铂族金属矿藏。津巴布韦矿业公司（Zimplats）在蒙多罗-恩格齐地区经营着矿山、选矿厂和加工厂。

在矿区内，矿石在现代化设施中进行加工，重型卡车在矿山和工厂之间穿梭。而在矿区外，特夫、马米纳、穆兰布瓦及附近村庄的居民表示，基础设施建设难以跟上该地区的发展步伐。

在津巴布韦图尔夫，靠近铂金矿区的垃圾场上，山羊和牛在吃草。[Enos Denhere/半岛电视台]

3 区 Denhere 村村长 Ernest Denhere 表示，矿业公司应该在它们运营的社区留下持久的遗产。

“我们呼吁 Zimplats 和其他矿山修建一条从 Kadoma/Kwekwe 到 Turf、Benhura、Mamina、Murambwa 和 Kadhani 的道路，连接到哈拉雷-马斯温戈高速公路，”Denhere 说。

第三选区议员艾玛·奇克瓦伊表示，有些孩子要走很远的路才能到中学上学。

她说：“来自乔姆帕尼、马约基、马莱蒂和马夸瓦拉拉的孩子们要步行15到25公里（9到15.5英里）才能到达穆西南比中学。我呼吁矿业公司协助在马夸瓦拉拉建立一所卫星中学。”

学校、水资源和生计面临压力

9 月 7 日，半岛电视台记者走访了特夫小学，发现由于入学人数不断增加，学校设施不堪重负，学生们只能在树下上课。

附近，妇女和年轻男子在成堆的垃圾中翻找可以出售的塑料。牛羊在垃圾堆中穿梭。

对于萨基娜·莱斯来说，收集塑料是她养家糊口的方式。

“我有11个孩子和9个孙子孙女。捡塑料是我唯一的谋生手段。我把它们卖掉，一个月大概能挣20美元，”她说。

“我是家里的经济支柱。我丈夫经常迟到，所以我们只能勉强糊口。我希望矿场能够赋予女性权力，这样我们就能开展项目，养家糊口。”

居民们还对距离垃圾场约 100 米（330 英尺）的恩瓦扎尼河表示担忧，他们声称采矿区的污水已经流入该水道，影响了家庭用水和小花园的灌溉。

埃德森·马布尔一家因采矿活动的扩张而搬迁，他说这条河已经成为他新社区居民的一个问题。

“我们村子以前就在现在矿场的位置，所以我们搬迁了。从我们的新村子出发，我要跨过恩瓦扎尼河，现在这条河已经被矿场排放的污水淹没了，”他说。

“自矿场投产以来，没有任何实质性的举措为当地社区留下长久的遗产。我不知道这究竟是地方议会的责任，还是津巴布韦矿业公司的责任。”

津巴布韦铂金矿区居民艾格尼丝·汉迪迪昆迪奥纳和她的孩子们站在图尔夫的恩瓦扎尼河边。[Enos Denhere/半岛电视台]

半岛电视台记者在阿格尼斯·汉迪迪昆迪奥纳带着孩子过河时采访了她。她说，居民们过去依靠这条河进行家庭活动和花园灌溉。

“我们面临着严峻的挑战，因为水质不再干净了，”她说。“在污水泄漏之前，我们一直用这些水做生活用途，比如洗衣服和浇灌营养丰富的菜园。”

她说，洪水也导致一些孩子无法上学。

“很多村庄的孩子都要过河去上学。有时候河水泛滥，他们就去不了学校了。我们需要在这里建一座人行桥，”她说。

第 11 区议员 Nhomboka Kurebwa Javangwe 表示，随着矿工及其家属迁入，该地区的人口有所增加。

他表示，Zimplats公司已经建造了教室和房屋，但需求仍然超过现有设施。他呼吁该公司建造并运营一所小学。

贾万格韦还表示，当地议员直接接触该公司的机会有限。

他说：“我们没有直接进入矿区反映我们人民的诉求的权利”，并补充说，只有委员会主席才被授权与津巴布韦矿业公司的官员会面。

矿业公司指出社区投资

其他铂金产区也提出了同样的担忧。

在拥有 Unki 铂金矿的舒鲁圭，居民们呼吁加大对当地基础设施的投资。

“我呼吁 Unki 考虑帮助 Shurugwi 镇的学校建设教室、改善供水和卫生条件以及修建道路，”Shurugwi 居民协会主席 Bulle Madzitire 说。

在附近的兹维沙瓦内，兹维沙瓦内居民协会主席卡米诺·西曼戈表示，含羞草铂金矿应该更加注重造福更广泛社区的基础设施建设。

Unki 告诉半岛电视台，过去五年，该公司平均每年在社区发展方面投资 150 万美元，涵盖教育、医疗保健、水和卫生设施、农业和基础设施。

其公共关系经理伊芙琳·马温巴表示，该矿已建造了 63 个钻孔，通过其 STEP-UP 计划支持了 32 所学校，并为 Impali 住宅区的土地购买和开发贡献了 275 万美元。

马温巴表示，Unki每年还向舒鲁圭镇议会缴纳约130,000美元的市政税，并每年向通戈加拉农村地区议会缴纳约850,000美元。

尽管半岛电视台多次尝试联系该公司，但 Mimosa 始终没有回应。

半岛电视台还就津巴布韦矿业公司（Zimplats）的贡献和发展计划联系了蒙多罗-恩格齐农村地区委员会主席埃弗雷姆·佩普凯·程格塔议员。他承诺会回复，但之后没有回复电话或信息。该委员会首席执行官伊泰·A·马翁德要求以书面形式提出问题。

Zimplats公司企业事务主管哈马·萨布里也表示会作出回应，但截至发稿时尚未作出回应。

对于津巴布韦铂金矿带的居民来说，他们的诉求很简单：改善道路、学校、水和其他服务，改善居住在该国一些最有价值的矿山附近的社区的公共服务。

“我们土地之下蕴藏着丰富的资源，”丹赫尔说。“我们需要为我们的社区留下持久的遗产。”