EMA renews Invictus Energy’s EIA for Special Grant 4571 to July 2023
By Almot Maqolo
HARARE – One of the industrial sectors having the biggest potential effects on how land is used, how the environment is impacted, and how society is affected is mining. Communities all over the world are fighting back against corporate land grabbing, home foreclosures, and environmental destruction. Rock and rubble have been left lying about, some of it on farmland and in the dried-up river. Some businesses take all they can and then depart without doing any cleanup.
Governments can employ environmental management to prevent or reduce harmful effects and promote effective cleanup throughout the mining life cycle. In a trading update, the Zimbabwe-Focused Natural Gas Explorer, Invictus Energy, says its Special Grant 4571 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been approved by the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) and renewed to July 2023. An EIA is a tool used to evaluate the significant environmental impacts of a project or development proposal. EIAs ensure that project decision-makers consider the environment’s likely effects as early as feasible and work to avoid, mitigate, or counteract those effects. Geo Associates (Private) Limited, an 80% owned subsidiary of the Company and the holder of SG 4571, has been granted permission by EMA to operate in accordance with Part XI of the Environmental Management Act (Chapter 20:27), subject to the usual terms and conditions.
The Environmental Management Plan renewal completes the necessary paperwork for permits and gives the company permission to carry out fieldwork like seismic acquisition and exploration drilling. According to the business, the initial EIA evaluation carried out by independent environmental consultants, the Scientific & Industrial Research & Development Centre (SIRDC), in 2019 was one of the largest assessments carried out in Zimbabwe.
It included stakeholder consultations with key project stakeholders, local authorities, relevant government ministries, and government extension offices, as well as field surveys and baseline measurements of hydrology, ecology, environmental, archaeological, hydrogeological, soil and socioeconomic and community factors.
According to the corporation, up to 1,000 people showed up at some meetings for the community information sessions. It was mentioned that the local populations in the Mashonaland Central Province and the Muzarabani and Mbire Districts have shown their unwavering support for the project. Managing Director Scott Macmillan said the company is very pleased to have the EIA and its Environmental Management Plan renewed by EMA. “The company is also grateful for the reception and support we have received from the local community for the project to date and for the imminent drilling program,” he said. The company’s Community Social Responsibility (CSR) program, on the other hand, is helping the neighborhood. The company’s CSR program was created in response to the comprehensive submissions it received as part of the EIA process and feedback from its Community Liaison Officers (CLOs) during ongoing community discussions for the just-completed CB21 Seismic Survey program.
The CSR initiative has prioritized supplying water to clinics and communities around the Muzarabani and Mbire Districts. Water is essential for life in distant villages and is also the most commonly requested community need. It also serves as a vital enabler for additional CSR activities the company hopes to launch in the future. For clinics and towns in the Mbire and Muzarabani districts, water access activities that have been completed include drilling water boreholes, installing solar panels, pumps, and above- ground storage tanks. “We are pleased to have our CSR program recognised for the impact it is having on local communities, and success at our upcoming Mukuyu-1 well will enable us to expand our program further.”
The CSR Network Zimbabwe has recognized Invictus for the positive effects of their CSR program and named it the recipient of the Responsible Investment & Social Impact Award 2022 for Mashonaland Central Province. The Australian exploration junior recently raised $8.5 million to begin exploration at its Muzarabani potential after completing a seismic campaign in September of last year. The project intends to realize the group’s vision of becoming a regional energy supplier in southern Africa, and Mukuyu-1’s exploration campaign’s success will significantly advance that objective and have a positive regional impact.