CANCELLED ARTISANAL AND SMALL-SCALE MINING LICENCE HOLDERS GIVEN THIRTY DAYS TO PAY FINE AND REGAIN THEIR PERMITS

The government has given artisanal and small-scale mine owners whose licenses were recently cancelled for non-compliance, a 30-days ultimatum to rectify areas of concern to regain their documents and pay k5000 as a penalty fee.

According to the Emerald Production Watch of Zambia President Musa Kafimbwa, the emerald sector contributed a total of 271 licenses out of the 2650 mining and non-mining licenses that were recently cancelled by the mining licensing committee.

Mr. Kafimbwa discloses to Phoenix News that the ministry of mines and mineral development only accorded this amnesty to small-scale mine license holders and not the bigger mines.

He has also disclosed that the 506 mining licences in Lufwanyama have drastically reduced due to mergers by various cooperatives that have merged into one while big mines like grizzly have 7 licenses under one entity.

And Mr. Kafimbwa says the reported K33 million that small-scale emerald owners owe the Lufwanyama town council is impossible to liquidate because majority of them have zero income and are dormant.