In the modern mining industry, one will find that most of the industry’s reputable operators have implemented a safety strategy.

The slogan “one life lost is one life to many” is regularly used as the key message in most occupational safety drives – all with varying success.

A clear success story is Mopani Copper Mines, who implemented its SAFEMINING plan in 2014.

This article first appeared in Mining Review Africa Issue 2, 2019

This vigorously driven strategy has not only proven successful at Mopani’s many mines, but it is proving to be a beacon of excellence within the mining industry.

At Mopani Copper Mine’s Kitwe operations in Zambia, there is a clear success story in Group R Mining & Exploration Zambia – an operating subsidiary of Pan African mechanised and trackless mining contractor Group R Holdings of Mauritius.

Not only did Group R embrace the SAFEMINING drive of Mopani Copper Mines, but has made it part of their daily conduct and business DNA.

The success of this is evident in that Group R has not had a single work fatality since its inception in 2010.

Moreover, the company has achieved an enviable track record of working five years without a single lost-time injury (LTI), a milestone that was achieved in late December 2018 at Mopani’s SOB Shaft.

“We at Mopani are extremely proud of the achievements of Group R and their unwavering dedication to mine safety. We would like to see this dedication and passion from all our contractors in all our operations” says Mopani Copper Mines CEO Chris Vermeulen.

The management team at Group R is firm in its approach to mine safety. Daily safety meetings are not seen as a tedious task but forms an integral part of its planning, policy-making and operational systems.

It is Group R’s belief that safety must be front of mind in everything that you do.

“Our client, Mopani Copper Mines, introduced and demanded that we work according to their international best standards for safety. As a contractor we had the choice to merely tick the boxes and show compliance or to embrace the spirit of the standards. We chose to embrace their safety protocol as part of our operations” says Group R Holdings COO Hein van Staden.

Group R believes that its five year LTI-free safety achievement at Mopani Copper Mines is merely just a measure of past performance and that providing a safe working space is not based on the past, but rather based on the continual safety performance of each and every future shift. Every shift demands 110% dedication.

“At Group R we believe that the management team is the greatest driver of operational safety, while our workers are the true custodians of safe practice. This is evident in their dedicated to daily safety at work,” say Van Staden.

Group R believes it its duty as African operator to be responsible for continuously investing in the incubation of a better, more inclusive and safer working environment within the African mining sector. This dedication is clearly visible through the safety accolades that it has achieved.

As a proud Zambian company, Group R Mining & Exploration Zambia would like to showcase to the world that Zambia has world-class mining contractors helping to benchmark Zambia’s mining sector on the African continent.

Source: Mining Review Africa

MOPANI Copper Mines (MCM) projects to start producing about eight million tonnes of copper ore per annum in the next three years. And MCM has handed over community projects it undertook in Mufulira district to Government.

The projects include an extended wire fence at Mufulira Correctional Facility, a wall fence around the district administration offices, the subordinate court and Mufulira Central Police Station.

Source: Daily Mail

Murray & Roberts Cementation Zambia has reported the completion of the sinking of the Synclinorium Shaft project in Kitwe, Zambia for its client Mopani Copper Mines (MCM).

“The last blast of the Main shaft took place on 30 September 2014 with the shaft at a final depth of 1 280.85 m below the shaft collar,” Murray & Roberts Cementation Zambia Project Manager Neil Mackay, says.

The scope of work comprised a blind sink of a 7m diameter downcast lined shaft with a bulk air cooler level, two electrical cubbies and two stations. The equipping and commissioning of the shaft commenced at the end of October with the erection of a new headgear, winder and roping up the shaft scheduled for 2015.

The Murray & Roberts Synclinorium shaft team has worked closely with the Mopani Copper Mine Synclinorium Project team towards the common goal of helping the project reach the safe stage where it is today.

Noteworthy achievements at the Synclinorium Shaft project to date include a record 96 m of sinking and lining achieved for the month of August 2013 and a Lost Time Injury Free figure of 290 days to date.

A challenge to date has been the pumping of up to 24 000 litres of ground water daily from the shaft. This groundwater is pumped to the surface from where it is diverted into a settlement pond for treatment.

“We intersected a 28 m dyke, from 1 040 m from 1 068 m, and sank through it without incident, a notable achievement given that the rock is very hard and susceptible to scaling. This has necessitated support to within 1 m of the shaft bottom in order to increase worker safety,” Senior Project Manager Wyllie Pearson, says.

Equipment deployed on the project by Murray & Roberts Cementation Zambia includes stage and kibble winders, a five boom jumbo shaft drill rig, a five deck working stage with a cactus grab, two mini excavators and an automated batch plant.

All equipment is serviced in a comprehensive on site workshop by a well trained team to ensure operational excellence and adherence to strengent safety measures.

The current date for commissioning of the shaft is December 2015.

Murray & Roberts Cementation Zambia has also pioneered several health and safety innovations at the Syclinorium Shaft project. These include a new system to replace the old system of hand signals and pull bells to communicate from the shaft bottom to the working stage platform.

The new system consists of a radio installed in a worker’s hardhat, with a built in speaker and microphone to enable hands free operation. The shaft bottom signalling system allows the sinker at the shaft bottom to give the kibble winding engine driver signals from a hand held unit.

Electronic alcohol testing equipment has also been deployed to measure the blood alcohol levels of all workers entering and leaving the site. The system is linked to the entrance turnstile and will not allow a worker to enter if he is in violation of the zero parameter.

Another innovation has been the introduction of directional rope lights on the stage to indicate to all workers which direction the kibble is at any given time.

While the Synclinorium Shaft represents Murray & Roberts Cementation Zambia’s first project for MCM, subsequent similar projects managed from its Kitwe office have underlined the contractor’s excellent track record in the country.

The team is 1 084 strong, comprising accountants, human resources coordinators, training facilitators and raise bore, mining and engineering teams.

Of these 141 are expatriate workers, ranging from management to shaft sinking specialists. A full project management, shaft sinking, raise boring and development portfolio offering is provided by Murray & Roberts Cementation Zambia, in addition to training and technical support.

Source: Mining News Zambia

Mopani Copper Mines, a unit of global commodity trader and diversified miner, Glencore Xstratra, has injected more than US$15 million in reviving an artisan training school in Mufulira, one of its operational areas following calls by the Government to improve skills training in the country and reduce on the industry relying on expatriates.

Previously, Zambian mines under the then Roan Consolidated Copper Mines (RCM) and Nchanga Consolidated Copper Mines (NCCM)-which together formed Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM), various mining companies had established training skills centres in various towns.

This was meant to encourage Zambians to learn various trades as part of the country’s effort to reduce on labour outsourcing, which saw many Zambians learn the ‘various trades’ and rose to senior ranks.

Among some of the Zambians that rose to senior positions at the time of ZCCM included then Superintendent, Albano Mutati, Pius Mambo and Francis Kaunda, among others as part of the Zambianisation of jobs by then President Kenneth Kaunda ostensibly to encourage the locals to run the mines.

However, with the continued outcry from Government on the need for the industry to maximize on locals to take up senior jobs and reduce on outsourcing, which has seen various Zambians fail to rise to senior positions, Mopani Copper Mines has taken a step ahead in meeting the desires of the Government.

In a statement by the miner, US$15 million (about K90 million) has been ploughed into constructing (reviving) a central training centre in Mufulira, which the company then under RCM had before the unbundling of the ZCCM conglomerate, to mitigate the critical shortage of artisan skills across Zambia’s mining industry.
Mopani Copper Mines chief executive officer, Danny Callow, says the continued growth of the copper mining industry in Zambia has led to a shortage of key technical skills and unavailability of suitably qualified and experienced local artisans. This situation necessitated the establishment of the training centre.

Callow stated that the training centre had been equipped with the world’s best engineering equipment and had so far enrolled over 140 students in its first intake. A total of 200 apprentices would be enrolled by the end of 2014.

Additionally, the Technical, Education, Vocation and Engineering Training Authority (TEVETA) accredited Centre, has come in handy and is offering courses under Mechanical Engineering that include, Fitting and Machining, Plating and welding, Heavy Mining Equipment Diesel Mechanics and Rigger Rope man. In Electrical Engineering, the school will offer courses in Electrical, Auto Electrical and Instrumentation.

The course being offered to the miners, Callow, added would last between two and three years. This was similarly the trend before under ZCCM, in which many Zambians learnt various trades ranging from fitting, electrical, boiler makers, metal fabricators and welders, among others.

It is envisaged, according to the syllabus being offered that the first class of fully trained artisans is expected to graduate in 2016 in which training will be accessible to Zambian school leavers and other local candidates seeking qualifications leading to a career within the mining industry.

According to Callow, the miner would spend a minimum of approximately US$20,000 annually on each apprentice in standard training and other related costs. Other than offering the training for free, Mopani would also provide the students with upkeep allowances, meals and accommodation and recreation facilities.

More than 30 years ago since Zambia’s mining industry became active, leading the country into becoming Africa’s leading copper producer-a feat it has maintained for the past 26 years, Zambia had well-established and funded training institutes that produced highly-qualified artisans and technicians for the mining industry.

Regrettably, the slowdown in copper prices on the international metal market in the 1970s which saw Zambia contribute a paltry 250,000 tons per annum from an average 700,000 tons earlier led to reduced investment in mining and training infrastructure.

Zambia was eventually forced to abandon artisanal training programmes on account that most undergraduates opted to pursue engineering courses at university level, Callow notes in his statement adding that the few remaining artisans could not satisfy the growing industry demand which led to the increased cost of hiring artisans.

During a recent workshop in Kitwe, northern Zambia, Chamber of Mines of Zambia President Emmanuel Mutati, an engineer himself, lamented the low skilled manpower-especially at Artisanal levels a situation he said needed to be reviewed to prop up the industry.

He attributed the decline to the development of the mines in north western Zambia, which has taken most of the skilled laborers to start up new projects in the area, now dubbed “The new Copperbelt” because of its vast mineral resources including gold and uranium.

Source: Mining News Zambia

Mopani Copper Mines Plc has implemented a number of programmes aimed at empowering and building capacity of local contractors and other small and medium enterprises in Zambia. The Company is encouraging formation of joint venture partnerships between local contractors and internationally-recognized and well-established foreign firms wishing to do business with the mining company. This has cheered the local contractors who have commended Mopani for coming up with the initiative.

One such joint venture supported by Mopani is between Shawonga Enterprises Limited of Zambia (33.3%) and ZINPRO Engineering of South Africa (66.7%). The two have partnered to form ZINPRO Zambia Limited, a company specialized in Shaft and structural steel rehabilitation works. ZINPRO Zambia has been engaged by Mopani to undertake massive refurbishment of the shaft infrastructure which Mopani inherited in a highly dilapidated state at privitisation.

Mopani Chief Executive Officer explains the company’s policy on joint ventures and the benefits that will be derived from supporting these partnerships:

“We have a deliberate policy that encourages foreign manufacturing companies wishing to do business with us to partner with local companies or involve Zambians in their shareholding structures. This, we believe, will help to build capacity of local companies, encourage skills transfer and give a competitive edge to the local firms whilst improving quality and efficiency,” said Mr. Callow.

Mr. Callow said initially attention was directed at improving processing plants and that time had come to address mining related issues.

“At privitisation we inherited highly dilapidated infrastructure both on surface and underground. Our major focus initially was to upgrade the Smelter to eliminate SO2 emissions and improve its efficiency. This project was completed 15 months ahead of schedule in March 2014 and is currently doing very well.

“Our focus now is to improve efficiency and productivity of underground operations. Maintenance of vertical shaft infrastructure is a highly specialised job and there is lack of local skills in this regard due to many years of lack of investment. Every month Mopani loses about 6000 metric tons of copper due to shaft shutdowns to facilitate maintenance.

“By bringing in shaft experts, ZINPRO Zambia Limited, Mopani will address the problem of frequent shutdowns and achieve continued production and less maintenance costs. This will also make shaft maintenance skills available in Zambia through the exchange that will take place as a result of the partnership,” Said Mr. Callow.

ZINPRO Zambia Operations Director, MrLondon Mwafulilwa has hailed Mopani for coming up with the initiative of supporting joint ventures. He has reiterated that the move will benefit all stakeholders involved, including the nation.

“First and foremost this venture is important to our Company because we are able to realize the full potential of the skills that are available, blend them with those of experienced hands and be able to participate in improving productivity in the mining industry as well as grow the mining support base. We are also able to provide employment and develop the local skills of the Zambian personnel,” said Mr Mwafulilwa.

He also reiterated that by partnering with ZINPRO Engineering, the local company has been able to upgrade its profile and working culture and expects a lot of future benefits.

“The ZINPRO Team has brought on board experience and an adorable working culture which most of our technical people do not have. The approach to how we look at the entire business has changed because we now drive solutions as compared to merely seeking contract opportunities.

“In the long term, there will be appropriate technology transfer and in the next 5/10 years we should have in the country dependable and reliable teams to be able to manage such projects without external expertise.”

Mr Mwafulilwa appealed to other local contractors to be consistent and prove their worth as opposed to seeking quick rewards. He further commended Mopani for the initiative.

“It is important for local contractors to remain focused and concentrate on their core business. This is the only way the mining industry will benefit from their input as they become specialists in their fields.

“Shawonga Enterprises Limited has been consistent for over 22 years of operation and therefore gained the necessary recognition from the players in the industry to a point where we are now able to contribute positively to the growth of the industry.

“I would like to commend Mopani for supporting such ventures as they create sustainable growth and support for the mining industry which can then be passed on from generation to generation. This is good not only for the mining industry, but the country as a whole especially that such specialised skills are getting fewer and fewer globally.

In order to promote efficiency in mining, Mopani is promoting other joint ventures between International world class contractors and solid, dependable local Zambian Contractors to form a Zambian owned, world-class mining contracting company by introducing expert skills and resources. This should lead to improved effectiveness and efficiency. The Company is further encouraging value addition and local procurement by empowering local manufacturers of various mining inputs such as cables, mill balls among other things.

Other local contractor development initiatives by Mopani include giving preference to local contractors before a tender can be extended to foreign contractors, Conducting capacity building workshops and trainings in addition to creating new business linkages for local contractors by assisting them to do business with other sister mines across the borders.

“Formation of joint venture partnerships, where Zambian companies take an equity stake, and add significant Zambian expertise to the newly formed company, create a win-win situation for all stakeholders. Empowering local contractors is a great step forward in developing the mining industry in Zambia in line with Government’s local content strategy,” Said Mr. Callow.

Source: Mining News Zambia