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KCM records injury-free month
By Times Reporter
KONKOLA Copper Mines (KCM) has for the first time recorded a month free of lost time due to injury in all its operations in Zambia.
According to a statement released by a company spokesperson and obtained by the Times, the company recorded a month-long, company wide, zero lost-time injury performance for January 2010, the first time that such a record has been achieved by the company.
KCM is the largest private-sector employer in Zambia with operations in Chingola, Chililabombwe, Kitwe and Nampundwe and employs some 20, 000 workers that include 9,000 contracted labour.
“The month-long safety record is a particularly impressive record when you consider the fact that 70 per cent of this huge workforce is involved in underground operations where the risk factor is high,” the statement reads in part.
The January safety record came on the back of two recent impressive departmental performances.
Last year, the 3,500 staff at Nchanga underground went on a six-month run without lost time due to injuries while the Konkola underground team of 6,170 had just gone four months without losing any time.
The statement said KCM recently became the first mining operation in Africa to be awarded three stars under the British Safety Council’s (BSC) five-star rating system at its first attempt, which is a step away from the Sword of Honour, the ultimate accolade in global safety standards.
Last year, KCM received the international safety award from the BSC and won the Zambia Federation of Employers’ top award for the best safety and occupational health policy in Zambia.
The company also holds other certification of occupational health and environmental management.
KCM is owned by London-listed FTSE 100 mining and metals major Vedanta Resources.
A state-of-the-art smelter, two concentrators, refinery and tailings leach plant are among its major assets, along with the multi-million dollar Konkola Deep Mining Project currently under development in Chililabombwe.