Mine
owner,
Tawanda
Nyambirai
In
a
judgment
delivered
in
Harare
on
25
February
2026,
Justice
Maxwell
Takuva
ruled
that
the
actions
taken
by
an
EMA
inspector
threatened
the
structural
stability
of
the
mine’s
Ceylone
Open
Pit
and
the
viability
of
its
production,
saying
the
consequences
of
inaction
would
be
“immediate
and
potentially
irreversible.”
The
dispute
stems
from
a
26
September
2025
inspection
during
which
Miriam
Katupa
issued
a
stop
order
and
penalty
against
the
mining
company,
alleging
that
it
was
unlawfully
discharging
water
into
a
natural
waterway
during
de-watering
operations.
The
company
insisted
the
water
was
clean
underground
water
“comparable
to
borehole
water,”
noting
that
neighbouring
Jongwe
Farm
had
even
used
some
of
it
for
irrigation.
It
further
argued
that
its
Environmental
Impact
Assessment
Licence,
issued
in
2024
and
valid
until
July
2026,
authorised
its
ongoing
mining
activities.
Takuva
accepted
that
the
mine
had
shown
a
prima
facie
right
requiring
judicial
protection.
He
highlighted
that
the
stop
order
had
effectively
shut
down
the
company’s
principal
ore-producing
site,
which
contributes
about
70%
of
its
gold
ore.
“The
potential
accumulation
of
water
in
an
open
pit
mine,
with
the
attendant
risk
of
wall
collapse
and
operational
paralysis,
presents
consequences
that
are
immediate
and
potentially
irreversible,”
he
said,
adding
that
the
urgency
of
the
application
was
neither
self-created
nor
exaggerated.
The
court
dismissed
arguments
that
TN
Gold
should
first
exhaust
internal
remedies
before
approaching
the
High
Court.
Takuva
noted
that
although
the
company
had
already
filed
an
appeal
with
the
EMA
Director
General’s
Office,
the
Environmental
Management
Act
provides
no
mechanism
for
suspending
enforcement
orders
pending
an
appeal
and
no
timeframe
for
deciding
those
appeals.
“In
circumstances
where
internal
remedies
cannot
provide
the
interim
protection
sought
and
could
result
in
irreparable
harm
if
awaited,
the
doctrine
of
exhaustion
does
not
bar
the
Applicant,”
he
wrote.
Weighing
the
risks,
the
judge
found
that
the
balance
of
convenience
overwhelmingly
favoured
the
mining
company.
He
observed
that
allowing
operations
to
resume
would
not
hinder
EMA’s
regulatory
powers,
which
remained
fully
intact,
but
preventing
de-watering
could
inflict
catastrophic
damage
on
the
mine’s
infrastructure.
“The
prejudice
to
the
Applicant
outweighs
any
temporary
inconvenience
to
the
Respondents,”
he
ruled.
The
court,
therefore,
suspended
both
the
stop
order
and
the
penalty
pending
the
determination
of
the
company’s
appeal,
and
ordered
the
respondents
represented
by
Dube
Manikai
&
Hwacha
to
pay
costs.
TN
Gold,
represented
by
Mtetwa
&
Nyambirai,
is
now
permitted
to
resume
operations
at
Ceylone
Open
Pit
and
continue
de-watering.
The
High
Court
concluded
that
“the
interests
of
justice
require
that
the
status
quo
be
preserved
pending
determination
of
the
internal
appeal,”
a
ruling
likely
to
resonate
across
Zimbabwe’s
mining
sector
as
it
navigates
rising
regulatory
scrutiny.