Shurugwi — Midlands Province marked the 2025 National Tree Planting Day on Saturday with a ceremony at Chenxi Mine, highlighting impressive environmental restoration work that is gradually reviving parts of the previously degraded Boterekwa escarpment.
The commemoration brought together senior government officials, security services, traditional leaders, the Forestry Commission, EMA, community groups and various schools. A total of 2,000 indigenous trees were planted, led by the Mumvee (Kigelia Africana), selected as the 2025 Tree of the Year.
Chenxi Mine supplied 1,000 Mumvee seedlings and another 1,000 assorted indigenous species for the provincial tree-planting programme. The company has planted over 20,000 trees this year, including 11,200 in the Boterekwa area, and reports a 95 percent survival rate due to the installation of drip-irrigation systems and upgrades in nursery management.
The mine’s 2025 Environmental Rehabilitation Report indicates that the Boterekwa terrain is steadily improving, with stabilised slopes, vetiver grass cover, strengthened stormwater channels and erosion-control structures. Community-linked nurseries have produced more than 50,000 seedlings to support the restoration process.
Chenxi Mine general manager Simon Karimanzira said land restoration and reforestation are now central pillars of the company’s operations.
“Environmental rehabilitation is now a core priority for us,” he said. “We understand the impact of mining activities, and that pushes us to invest in long-term restoration of affected landscapes.”
He revealed that 33 hectares out of the 70 hectares disturbed by mining have already been reclaimed representing 46 percent progress through land reshaping, terracing, grass planting and the reintroduction of indigenous tree species. He reaffirmed the mine’s ambition to plant one million trees by the end of its mining lifespan.
Karimanzira also highlighted ongoing research partnerships with Hunan City University in China and local universities on slope stabilisation, grass varieties, heavy-metal-tolerant plants and other ecological restoration methods. The mine’s nursery currently produces 40,000 seedlings annually, with plans to increase output to 100,000 by late 2026.
Guest of honour and Midlands Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Owen Ncube, commended the mine’s progress, describing Chenxi as “a model of responsible mining” and encouraging other operators to emulate its rehabilitation efforts.
“This event brings our national greening agenda directly to communities,” he said. “We urge every mining company in the province to adopt similar restoration initiatives. Chenxi has demonstrated what responsible operators can achieve.”
Forestry Commissioner Sithole pledged ongoing technical assistance as the mine works towards its long-term targets and the broader recovery of the Boterekwa Valley.
The planting of the culturally significant Mumvee tree symbolised renewed optimism for the revival of an area long associated with environmental degradation
