Sandawana mines
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{{Infobox mine
| name = Sandawana Mines
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| pushpin_map =Zimbabwe
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| coordinates = {{Coord|20|55|0|S|29|55|59|E|display=inline,title}}
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| subdivision_type = Province
| state/province = Midlands
| country = Zimbabwe
| owner = Rio Tinto Zinc 1958–1993
Sandawana Mines Ltd. 1993–2019
Kuvimba Mining House 2019–
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| products = emeralds, lithium
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| opening year = 1958
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The Sandawana Mines are a mining complex in Mberengwa District, Midlands Province of Zimbabwe, primarily known for its emeralds. The mines are sixty-five kilometers south of the town of Mberengwa.{{Cite journal|last1=Zwaan |first1=Johannes Cornelis (Hanco) |last2=Kanis |first2=Jan |last3=Petsch |first3=Eckehard J. |year=1997 |title=Update on Emeralds from the Sandawana Mines Zimbabwe |journal=Gems & Gemology |volume=33 |issue=2 |pages=80–100 |publisher=Gemological Institute of America |doi=10.5741/GEMS.33.2.80 }}
With the growth in the use of lithium batteries, lithium became a major product from the Sandawana mines.
History
Emeralds were first discovered there in 1956, at what is now the Vulcan mine site, and the following year at the Zeus mine site. Production began in 1958,{{Cite journal|last=Gübelin |first=Eduard J. |year=1958 |title=Emeralds from Sandawana |journal=The Journal of Gemmology |volume=6 |issue=8 |pages=340–354 |doi=10.15506/JoG.1958.6.8.340 }} and in 1959 the properties were sold to a Rio Tinto subsidiary Rio Tinto Zinc (RTZ). The mines were first worked by filling a wheelbarrow with the gem containing soil and then washing away the earth,{{Cite journal|last=Böhmke |first=F. C. |year=1982 |title=Emeralds at Sandawana in Gemstones, Report of the Sixth Annual Commodity Meeting, Institution of Mining and Metallurgy (IMM) |journal=Transactions of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy |volume=91
|pages=A110–A122 }} but were replaced by modern placer techniques.
In 1993 Rio Tinto sold the mines to a newly formed company, Sandawana Mines (Pvt.) Ltd., where the Zimbabwean government held a significant share. The mines were closed seven years later due to the drop in demand for emeralds.{{Cite news|last1=Kairiza |first1=Tinashe |last2=Nyoni |first2=Mthandazo |date=21 September 2023 |title=Kuvimba sits on 820 000 tonnes of lithium stockpiles |newspaper=NewsDay |location=Harare, Zimbabwe |url=https://www.newsday.co.zw/theindependent/business/article/200016938/kuvimba-sits-on-820-000-tonnes-of-lithium-stockpiles }} But interest in the properties resumed as the price of lithium soared. In 2019, Kuvimba Mining House (KMH), which is 65% owned by the Zimbabwe government, took over the asset.{{Cite web|title=Demystifying Sandawana Mine |publisher=Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG) |location=Harare, Zimbabwe |url=https://cnrgzim.org/news/demystifying-sandawana-mine/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108234627/https://cnrgzim.org/news/demystifying-sandawana-mine/ |archive-date=8 November 2023 |url-status=live }}
Illegal mining takes place at the Sandawana mines due to lax or bribed security. The global rise in lithium prices in the early 2020s triggered a lithium rush which caused conflicts, leading to the eviction of local people from lithium-rich lands. In Sandawana, the evictions – which were filmed and did the rounds of social media – triggered widespread condemnation of the government.{{Cite journal|last=Mkodzongi|first=Grasian|date=March 21, 2025|title=Local inclusion and regulatory control key to sustainable mining : Lessons learnt from China's scramble for Zimbabwe's lithium reserves|url=https://nai.uu.se/stories-and-events/news/2025-03-21-local-inclusion-and-regulatory-control-key-to-sustainable-mining.html|journal=NAI Policy Notes 2025:3, the Nordic Africa Institute}}
Geology
The Mweza greenstone belt consists of a series of intensely deformed and moderately metamorphosed ultramafic-to-mafic volcanic rocks and metamorphosed sedimentary rocks.{{Cite journal|last=Zizhou |first=Peter T. |year=1994 |title=A preliminary report on the geology of the Mweza Greenstone Belt, Mberengwa |journal=Annals of the Zimbabwe Geological Survey |volume=18 |pages=7–11 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MnFPAQAAIAAJ }} Intruded into the greenstone are granitic pegmatites containing rare earth minerals such as spodumene. These pegmatite were intruded just prior to and/or during a main deformation event at 2.6 Ga.(2.6 billion years ago).{{Cite journal|last1=Zwaan |first1=Johannes Cornelis (Hanco) |year=2006 |title=The Sandawana Model of Emerald Formation |journal=Gems & Gemology |volume=42 |issue=3 |page=111 |url=https://www.gia.edu/doc/FA06.pdf }} Subsequently, along the cracks between the pegmatites and the greenstone, a hydrothermal solution complex was injected containing large amounts of sodium, as well as lithium, fluorine, beryllium, phosphorus and chromium.{{Cite journal|last1=Zwaan |first1=Johannes Cornelis (Hanco) |year=2006 |title=Gemmology, geology and origin of the Sandawana emerald deposits, Zimbabwe |journal=Scripta Geologica |volume=131 |pages=1–212 |url=https://repository.naturalis.nl/pub/209632/SG131_001-212.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308205049/https://repository.naturalis.nl/pub/209632/SG131_001-212.pdf |archive-date=8 March 2022 |url-status=live }} This solution reacted with the minerals of both the granite pegmatite and the greenstone to produce a variety of uncommon minerals, including emeralds (beryl).
Notes and references
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Category:Rio Tinto (corporation) subsidiaries
Category:Surface mines in Zimbabwe
Category:Lithium mines in Zimbabwe