Mining blasts by a Chinese consortium exploring 700 hectares in Nhamatanda are causing "serious damage" to nearby residents, warns local people, who accuse the companies of not having done environmental studies.

"This is creating many problems, for example, my house has cracks in the walls that I don't even know if it will resist for a long time," Gilberto Botão, who lives near the exploration area, told Lusa.

Gilberto Botão's house is almost 50 meters away from the space that is being explored by the Chinese consortium led by the company "Hiperbrita", which is dedicated to the extraction of stones for construction in the interior of the municipality of Nhamatanda (in the so-called Bairro 5), in the province of Sofala, central Mozambique.

The exploration space is located in a residential area, which also integrates state infrastructures, especially the buildings of the Technical Secretariat of Electoral Administration and a health center.

In addition to the impact on the houses that are closest to the exploration area, the residents complain about the noise pollution resulting from the constant explosions.

"A lot of noise is made," said Rachide da Graça, another local resident, adding that "the houses shake" as a result of the operations of the Chinese company, which sometimes operates outside the hours established by law, according to the population.

"Everything was done without environmental studies and this can bring consequences in the future. The explosions have their impacts and can cause, tomorrow, erosion and other major problems, resulting from this action of man", warned, for his part, the environmentalist Faruk Manuel quoted by Lusa.

The mayor of Nhamatanda, António Charumar, told Lusa that he was not involved in the process that culminated with the concession of the space to the Chinese companies.

"I don't know how these companies were allocated these spaces, to which I can only say to consult the former leaders," Charumar stated.

Contacted by Lusa, the Sofala Provincial Directorate of Environment claims that there is an order to halt the company's operations due to its environmental impact in the region, although on the ground operations continue.

"Yes, they are legal companies," stressed Ermelinda Maquenze, provincial director of Environmental Action in Sofala, adding that part of the documents granting authorization to the companies were destroyed by Cyclone Idai, which struck the region in March 2019.

Lusa tried, without success, to contact the consortium's responsible staff.