By Dr Michelina Andreucci

IT has often been said that the discovery of minerals brought civilisation in its wake.
From the flint axe of our Stone Age ancestors to the titanium of space age and today’s technology, the discovery and use of minerals has been the measure of man’s progress.
With the exception of atmospheric gases, everything that man uses comes either directly or indirectly from the earth’s crust.
This applies not only to mineral products such as metals and ores, coal, petroleum, ceramic clays, building and construction materials such as cement from lime deposits, but also to plant and animal products.
In addition, the essential salts necessary for the development and support of all forms of life are ultimately derived from the crust of the earth through the medium of either the soil and/or water.
The natural resources of any country include all the latent wealth inherent in the soil, climate, topography and mineral deposits together with the physical and mental qualities of its people.
A mineral is defined as any homogeneous, naturally occurring constituent of the earth’s crust.
They include substances such as common salt or diamonds, crystalline, liquids such as water or petroleum and gases like helium or methane.
The aggregate of one or more of these minerals form naturally into rock.
The Precambrian rocks that form the foundation of Zimbabwe and the African Continent, are the oldest group of rocks on earth.
They include sedimentary rocks, formed from materials transported by water and wind; igneous rocks solidified from molten minerals and metamorphic rocks produced by the reconstitution of sedimentary and igneous rocks through the action of heat, pressure and natural fluids, deep in the bowls of the earth.
Studies indicate the period of formation spans a minimum of four-fifths (4/5) of the history of the earth’s crust; the average age of the youngest of the rocks is approximately 600 million years old and the oldest more than 3 000 million years old.
Many important mineral deposits are related to the hot mobile rock-forming material within the earth, known as magma.
As magma cools, various combinations of elements crystallise out in turn to form minerals of different compositions; these minerals together form igneous rocks.
However, there are only infinitesimal amounts of most of the more familiar and most desirable substances present in the earth’s crust and cannot always be extracted economically.
It is therefore the task of geology to determine the conditions under which localised concentrations of the various elements are formed; the localisation of mineral concentration and the processes involved will inform a geologist who would then be in a position to estimate the probable occurrence of ore bodies in a given area, its profitability and method of extraction.
Based on territorial assets, most regions are differently endowed in respect of natural and mineral resources that provide a benchmark for its economic development.
A nation’s natural resources, in the form of minerals, constitute a comparatively fixed un-renewable quantity, subject to modification within narrow perimeters.
The table below gives an average of mineral occurrence in the earth’s crust and the minimum required for profitable mining.
In order to make full use of everything that lies in the earth, it is necessary to know the nature and extent to available resources and the best means of obtaining and employing them.
As such, this will require large expenditure in terms of time, money and effort and particularly scientific research and technical man-power.
Therefore, geological fieldwork in Zimbabwe requires in-depth knowledge of the problems and methods of solving them.
One of the most important issues that confront Zimbabwe today is concerned with the economic advancement of the state and its people.
Along with agriculture, the mining sector is a key pillar of Zimbabwe’s economy.
Mining in Zimbabwe is a major contributor to the national economic development; it accounts for almost 50 percent of Zimbabwe’s total foreign currency revenues.
According to a Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim-ASSET) paper (2013), mining, as a major economic pillar in Zimbabwe, was forecast to grow by an average of six percent under the Zim-ASSET projections between the years 2014-2018.
Figures released by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) show Zimbabwe’s mineral exports totalled US$1,8 billion in January 2013.
With 48 percent of the world’s strategic mineral resources, Zimbabwe has significant reserves of platinum, diamonds, gold, coal, gold, platinum, copper, nickel, tin, including numerous metallic and non-metallic ores, making the mining industry a vitally important economic mainstay for Zimbabwe.
Yet have all the available natural resources been fully exploited; and should they be exploited all at once?
What of our other natural resources – the land and forests — that are unremittingly being degraded and deforested in our ever-increasing appetite for mineral wealth?
Who will be accountable for the unrestrained excavation that is currently going on in pursuit of the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?
Since nature cannot produce food without assistance in a continent of diverse terrain and climates, minerals also have an important role to play in agriculture.
Nitrogen, potassium, phosphates and other essential elements derived from minerals can be added scientifically to obtain the maximum agricultural output and improve food return.
Have we done an environmental impact assessment of all the mining activities in Zimbabwe and what it will cost in future to mend this damage?
Applications of mineral fertilisers not only produce higher yields, but also denser crop growth; this dense growth protects the arable lands from erosion and saves soils for the future.
Nor is Zimbabwe short of mineral energy for industry.
While the Government has put into place programmes to improve the planning and management of land resources as well as develop environmental operating guidelines for the various sectors, land degradation is one of the major environmental problems especially in communal areas.
A large amount of biodiversity has also been lost to mining activities, and so has the socio-cultural role of forests, that is also linked to the growing poverty in rural areas.
All the land being destroyed through uncontrolled mining is habitable land which in the future will have to take care of mother nature’s increased population.
It has been estimated that by 2024, less than a decade from now, there will be 20 million people in Zimbabwe – where are they going to live?
We have a corporate and national social responsibility.
Government and the people of Zimbabwe need to be aware of the importance of conservation and preservation and should be aware of and promote indigenous traditional Afro-eco-sensitive systems of conservation and preservation for the future generations.
We have to be accountable for the excavation that is currently going on.
We may find that it may cost more to repair the damage than it cost to excavate for gold, diamonds and platinum.
We should use some of the mining money for land reclamation and reforestation; otherwise we may be forced to call on the over-developed countries to fix the damage that has been done.
Surely we have our own indigenous philosophies and methods of land conservation that need to be taken heed of, for the benefit of the children of Zimbabwe.
Dr Michelina Andreucci is a Zimbabwean-Italian researcher, industrial design consultant, lecturer and specialist hospitality interior decorator. She is a published author in her field.
For views and comments, email: linamanucci@gmail.com