Message Mer 19 Aoû 2009 21:52

Luanhya Mine Casualisation Ends

Zambia: Luanhya Mine Casualisation Ends - 19 August 2009
China Nonferrous Mining Company (CNMC) has stoped to recruit employees at Luanshya Copper Mine (LCM) on six months contracts.
This means all the 4,000 employees expected to be recruited next year would be put on pensionable employment. And the LCM management has disclosed that it had injected more than US$400 million in the expansion of the mine through the Mulyashi Open Pit project and upgrading other operations.
Labour and Social Security Deputy Minister Simon Kachimba said in an interview after meeting the LCM management in Luanshya yesterday that the mine management had agreed to end casualisation.
LCM which was placed under care and maintenance by its previous owners Enya Holdings, resumed operations in June after its new owners CNMC group, recruited 820 workers on a six-month long contract.
"Government and LCM management have agreed that all the 4,000 employees who will be engaged once the mine resumes full production in January next year will be pensionable workers and those who are above the age of 55 will be recruited on contracts," Mr Kachimba said.
Mr Kachimba said the LCM management had also agreed to continue sponsoring students and to maintain its training centre.
Other social amenities such as sponsoring a soccer team, rugby and swimming among other activities aimed at benefiting the surrounding community would also continue.
And LCM chief executive officer Luo Xingeng said a total of $300 million had been released for the development of the mining site at Mulyashi Open Pit and the setting up of a 500 million tonnes per month leaching plant, which will be the biggest in Zambia.
"The contractor engaged in the development of the Mulyashi Open pit site is already on the ground while the Luanshya shaft mining site will be completely scrapped and a leaching plant will be constructed on the site.
The copper oxide mine at Mulyashi will be processed at the leaching plant once it becomes operational," Mr Luo said.
He said $74 million would be used to upgrade the Baluba under ground mine operations, upgrade the 11.4 kilometre conveyor belt which transports copper from Baluba Mine and the crusher plant and the replacing of the crusher plant.
Mr Luo also announced that the clearing of the Baluba mining sites development, which mainly involved the preparation of the copper ore body in readiness for the commencement of mining activities, had started.
He said a mine had engaged an additional 200 full-time employees to do the sites development, replacing the sub-contracted workers working under a South African firm Prosec-Amco.
He said most of those employed previously used to work for the contractor. Mr Luo said the move had been necessitated in order to promote efficiency.

from <http://allafrica.com/stories/200908190414.html>
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