Maputo, Aug. 18, 2026 (Lusa) - The Mozambican Government has authorised the resumption of operations for 30 of the 41 mining companies whose activities were suspended in Manica a year ago, after they complied with environmental requirements and mining regulations; the remaining companies are currently under review.
The information was disclosed to Lusa on Tuesday by Felisbela Cunhete, the national director of Hydrocarbons and Fuels at the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy, on the sidelines of the 11th Coordinating Council of that ministry, which has been taking place since Saturday in Maputo province.
«[Some] companies have already been authorised to resume their mining activities, having complied with the relevant requirements and standards,» said Ms Cunhete, referring to the process of monitoring and regularising the companies.
According to Cunhete, the suspension followed a situation of unregulated mining in the central province of Manica, which had negative impacts on the environment and led the Government to set up a commission to monitor and organise the mining sector.
All the companies concerned have been notified to rectify irregularities and comply with mining standards and best practices, and the commission is currently assessing compliance with these requirements by the remaining 11 operators.
«As for the others, the commission is continuing to work to assess whether or not they are now in a position to resume operations,» she said, adding that companies which fail to meet the requirements may not be authorised to resume operations.
The minister for mineral resources and energy, Estêvão Pale, indicated during the Coordinating Council meetings that the monitoring work had enabled 30 of the 41 companies surveyed in Manica to be released from suspension, representing a compliance rate of 73%.
The suspension of mining activities in Manica took place in September, following an assessment carried out in July 2025 by an operational unit of the defence and security forces (FDS), which identified a situation of «uncontrolled mining», with licensed operators working without environmental rehabilitation plans or waste containment systems.
Following these findings, the Government classified the environmental situation in the province as critical, due to river pollution caused by ore washing and dumping of untreated waste, and set up an interministerial committee to monitor the process.
In December 2025, the authorities ruled that mining companies had 90 days to rehabilitate and stabilise the soil and restore the flow of rivers affected by mining activity, whilst in March they recommended that small-scale mining be organised through associations or cooperatives.
This process is also taking place against the backdrop of an investigation into the use of hazardous chemicals in mining in Manica, with the parliamentary commission of inquiry concluding in February that the use of such products continued to pose a challenge.
The commission's report highlighted a structural pattern of mining without effective control, in which mining continued even after the legal suspension, degrading rivers, affecting communities and exposing deep-seated failings in governance, oversight and law enforcement.
It concludes that mining activity in Manica is characterised by significant environmental, social and institutional impacts, highlighting that it is «causing significant environmental damage, with a negative impact on agriculture, livestock farming and fisheries». It added that the intensification of mining, including legal operations, has contributed to the marked degradation of natural resources, particularly the rivers that feed the Chicamba reservoir.
In April, at least 11 small-scale miners died following a mine collapse in the region of Vanduzi, whilst in January, three small-scale miners died from asphyxiation in an incident involving a generator at a mine in the same region.
The authorities have also been seeking to remove children from artisanal mining. On 2 June, an official source indicated that 177 minors were still involved in the activity in the province, of whom 111 were male and 66 female, compared with a previous estimate of around 700 children.
EYMZ/AYLS // AYLS
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