In Buhera, families say mining dust and workplace injuries are leaving communities sick, disabled and searching for answers….
The sound of mining trucks had become part of everyday life in 11-year-old Chantiel Museka Makuni, in Buhera village.
Every morning, the young school girl walked dusty roads to school as heavy vehicles rumbled past nearby homes, leaving thick clouds hanging in the air long after they disappeared. Villagers had grown used to wiping dust from windows, blankets and plates. Children played beneath skies often blurred by mining activity.
To many families, it was simply the price of living near the mines.
No one imagined the dust could one day be linked to death.
When Chantiel suddenly fell ill and died, shock and grief spread across the St Albany community. Her family says a postmortem examination later revealed traces of dust in her brain, a finding that has left villagers frightened and desperate for answers.
“It was in September of 2024, I cannot recall the exact date she died but it was in September,” said Chantiel’s grandmother recalling that it started as headache and they thought it was as simple as that but later on when they seek medical attention, they were told she had dust in her brains.
Now, her death has become a painful symbol of what residents in mining communities say is a growing but largely ignored health crisis unfolding in parts of Zimbabwe.
“We are breathing this dust every day,” said one community member Senzeni Taruwona. “Our children inhale it. We eat it. We sleep in it.”
In Buhera, residents say life has changed since mining operations intensified in the area. Blasting, heavy machinery and constant truck movement have become part of daily life, bringing fears over health and safety.
Inside many homes, women say they clean surfaces repeatedly as fine dust settles almost everywhere.
Some say children are developing persistent coughs.
Others complain of headaches, chest pains and irritated eyes.
For gogo Chikunda, the suffering is visible every day.
Sitting quietly outside her homestead, she constantly wipes tears from her watery eyes using the edge of her dress. She says the irritation has worsened over time and doctors suspect dust exposure may be contributing to the condition.
“Sometimes it burns badly,” she said softly. “The dust enters our homes every day.”
Residents say the situation becomes worse during blasting periods or when haulage trucks speed through villages without water being sprayed to reduce dust.
While some families fear invisible health effects, others are living with permanent physical injuries they say were caused by unsafe mining conditions.
Mandiyambira Willard remembers the day his life changed in October 2023.
Once a hardworking man who depended on physical labor to provide for his family, he now struggles to walk after suffering a leg injury while working at a mine.
He says the injury left him unable to continue working and pushed his family into hardship.
“I can no longer do the work I used to do,” he said. “Everything became difficult after the accident.”
Today, most of his days are spent at home while others continue working around him.
Another injured worker, Tafadzwa Rwambiwa tells a similar story.
He says he also sustained a serious leg injury while working at a mine and expected compensation or assistance after the accident. But years later, he says he is still struggling without meaningful support.
The injury not only affected his mobility, but also his ability to care for his family.
“I was injured while trying to earn a living,” he said. “Now it feels like I am forgotten because I never et to return to work again.”
Their stories reflect growing concerns from labor and environmental rights advocates who argue that some mining communities are carrying the hidden costs of Zimbabwe’s mineral extraction boom.
In Bikita, where lithium mining activities have expanded rapidly in recent years, residents are also raising concerns over exposure to mining waste locally referred to by some villagers as “vim.”
Community members say fine particles from the waste are blown by wind into nearby homes and villages, leaving many worried about long-term health effects.
For Nezbert Chakatai, the dust left him a life-threatening illness, tuberculosis. He struggles to pay for his medical bills and the expensive treatment required.
Parents fear for their children, who often play close to waste dumping areas.
Others complain of breathing discomfort and persistent coughing.
Yet many residents say they have received little information explaining the possible dangers associated with prolonged exposure to mining dust and waste.
Health experts warn that long-term exposure to dust generated from mining operations can contribute to respiratory complications, eye irritation and other health problems, particularly in communities located close to blasting sites or waste dumps.
Environmental experts also say inadequate dust suppression systems, poor waste management and weak monitoring can place surrounding communities at risk.
As Zimbabwe positions itself as a major player in the global lithium sector and other mining industries, questions continue to emerge over whether communities living closest to extraction sites are adequately protected.
Concerns are also growing over compensation for injured workers and accountability when accidents or health complications occur.
For Chantiel’s grandmother, however, the issue is no longer about policies or mining profits.
It is about loss.
Inside their home, memories of a young girl whose life ended too soon remain painfully fresh.
Outside, the mining trucks continue to pass through the community, raising clouds of dust into the air.
And for many villagers in Buhera and Bikita, the fear is that more lives could still be buried beneath it.
