Miners Face Ban Over Pollution in Zimbabwe River

Eleven small-scale mining companies face a ban after Zimbabwe’s Environmental Management Agency found chemicals such as mercury and cyanide in the Mazowe River, the state-controlled Herald reported.
The miners, panning for gold in the river and digging its banks to find the precious metal, may be allocated licenses to mine further away from rivers, the Harare-based Herald said on its website, citing Water Minister Saviour Kasukuwere and EMA Director Mutsa Chasi.
Zimbabwe will ban all river-bed and river-bank mining in an effort to protect streams and rivers, the Herald cited Kasukuwere as saying. The mining companies involved are mostly owned by Chinese nationals, it reported.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-08/miners-face-ban-over-pollution-in-zimbabwe-river-herald-reports.html