Harare: The Zimbabwean government has ordered the suspension of operations of lithium mine Bikita Minerals, which is currently owned by China’s Sinomine Resource Group, until it complies with legal provisions that include labour, environmental and immigration laws, media reports said.

Sinomine acquired Bikita Minerals which was previously controlled by German investors through African Minerals Ltd for US$180 million in January last year, reports News Day.

Despite surges in production, working conditions reportedly deteriorated as workers were allegedly subjected to ill-treatment, poor remuneration, while being accommodated in inhumane facilities and were not registered with such statutory bodies as the National Social Security Authority, the news portal reported.

Mines and Mining Development deputy minister Polite Kambamura confirmed the suspension which came after an inter-ministerial audit last week.

“It’s a temporary suspension of operations. There were issues that government noted that the mine was not complying with,” Kambamura told the news portal. “We had a checklist and we were ticking. Anything that the company wasn’t complying with we ticked and ordered it to correct before reopening."

“The audit was done by an inter-ministerial team looking at issues like immigration, labour laws, export laws, environmental laws and so forth. Once the mine puts the house in order, its authorities will call us to re-inspect. If it’s complying we will issue a reopening order.”