Zimbabwe gold miners risked their lives in search of gold

Harare, February 16: Zimbabwe is the country has valuable platinum, diamond, gold, coal and copper deposits. It faces a deep economic crisis, the worst in a decade. The country's main commodities include metallurgical-grade chromite, as well as asbestos, coal, copper, gold, nickel, and iron ore.

At least 60 illegal gold miners were missing feared dead in Zimbabwe on Friday after water flooded two disused shafts in a mining town southwest of Harare, a government minister said.

Between 60-70 miners were in the two shafts when they were flooded on Tuesday, Local Government Minister July Moyo said.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa had declared a "state of disaster", he added

Moyo said, "frantic efforts were being made to pump out water from the flooded shafts before retrieval of the victims".

The government has launched an appeal for $200,000 to be used "to pump out water, feeding the bereaved families and the (rescue) teams on the ground, transportation and burial of the victims", he said.