Botha Gold mine approval withdrawn

Published: 16 May 2026

THE Ministry of Mines and Mining Development has withdrawn a controversial Siting of Works approval granted to Botha Gold Mine following allegations of fraud, forgery and abuse of office raised by Mutapa Gold Resources, operators of Freda Rebecca Gold Mine.

The development follows reports alleging that a disputed Siting of Works plan linked to Botha Gold Mine may have been manipulated to misrepresent the location of proposed mining operations.

Mutapa Gold Resources previously alleged that a senior survey official in the Ministry of Mines in Bindura processed an allegedly altered Siting of Works plan connected to the dispute.

The controversy centres on claims that Side Electrical (Pvt) Ltd, trading as Botha Gold Mine, submitted manipulated coordinates allegedly encroaching into Mining Lease 21 (ML21), an area associated with Freda Rebecca Gold Mine.

In a letter dated April 29, 2026, Mashonaland Central Provincial Mining Director T. Kashiri informed Botha Mine that the Siting of Works approval for Botha 1-4, registration numbers 46035-38, which had been granted on April 21, had been withdrawn and nullified.

The ministry said the decision followed consultations involving parties connected to what it described as a boundary dispute and ongoing court proceedings.

"Accordingly, the Siting of Works which was approved on the 21st of April has been withdrawn and nullified," the letter stated.

Copies of the correspondence were reportedly sent to Freda Rebecca Gold Mine, the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) in Bindura and the Officer Commanding Mashonaland Central Province.

Days later, Botha Mine withdrew an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) addendum it had submitted to EMA.

In correspondence dated May 6, 2026, Side Electrical requested the withdrawal of the submission "to enable us to attend to the correspondence that you requested".

The company did not elaborate further.

However, Mutapa Gold Resources said the withdrawal followed objections it raised with EMA over what it described as a fraudulent Siting of Works plan.

In a letter dated May 8, 2026, addressed to the Provincial Mining Director, Mutapa said it had objected to Botha's EMA application "citing, amongst other grounds, the issue of a fraudulent Siting of Works plan as a basis for non-consent to the processing of the Environmental Impact Assessment".

"We welcome the withdrawal of the forged Siting of Works plan by the Ministry of Mines. This document was mischievously aimed at misleading EMA in the EIA process," Mutapa said.

The company further alleged that ministry officials manipulated geo-referenced overlays to place Botha Mine within ML21 despite its registered mining position allegedly being elsewhere.

"It became clear that Ministry of Mines officials who processed this document did so fraudulently by placing Side Electricals in ML21 contrary to its actual registration position," the letter stated.

Mutapa also claimed the disputed plan was intended to unlawfully expand Botha Mine's operational area without proper legal authority.

"The plan was fraudulently aimed at increasing Botha's area without a certificate or authority supporting this expansion. This constitutes fraud," the company alleged.

The mining company disputed assertions by the ministry that there was a pending court case involving a boundary dispute.

"We note with great concern that your office has created the impression that there is a boundary dispute and a pending court case on a boundary dispute when no such case exists," Mutapa wrote.

In its correspondence, Mutapa named four Ministry of Mines officials whom it accused of involvement in processing the disputed Siting of Works document dated April 17, 2026.

The officials named were S. Madiro from Engineering, P. Mushangwe from Geology, S. Mutamba from Metallurgy and C. Manyunga from Survey.

Mutapa described the alleged conduct as "deplorable, corrupt, criminal, and amounts to abuse of office".

The company threatened to file criminal complaints with the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission and the Zimbabwe Republic Police if the ministry failed to clarify its position.

"Should a clear position not be adopted in writing by end of day 8 May 2026, a criminal complaint for Fraud, Forgery, and Criminal Abuse of Office will be filed with the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission and the Zimbabwe Republic Police," the letter warned.

The dispute follows earlier reports in which Freda Rebecca Gold Mine alleged that Botha Mine had submitted "fraudulently surveyed coordinates" designed to shift Botha 1-4 claims into portions of ML21.

At the time, Provincial Mining Director Kashiri reportedly stated under oath that Side Electrical "has never acquired any mining rights within Mining Lease 21".

Botha Gold Mine previously denied wrongdoing and argued that the matter remained before the courts.

As of yesterday, neither Botha Gold Mine nor the Ministry of Mines had publicly responded to the latest allegations.

Government Chief Mining Engineer Munodawafa reportedly said the matter was being handled at provincial level, while the Provincial Mining Director declined to comment.
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