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Mer 16 Déc 2009 09:07
Vedanta had spent $1.5 billion in KCM
By CHARLES SIMENGWA
KONKOLA Copper Mines (KCM) has stepped up the transfer of technology from its superior production units abroad into Zambia through a multi-million Kwacha training programme for its staff.
And the company has said it is on course with its forecast to lift copper production capacity from the current 250,000 tonnes per annum to a half million tonnes in the next two years.
Chief executive officer, Kishore Kumar said the training programme focusing on mechanical, electrical and instrumentation staff was motivated by huge copper extractions the giant mining firm had projected for 2010 going into 2011, to double the current production level.
He said 42 employees had in the last three years been sent to superior production facilities in India for further training.
“We believe that this is a systematic and tangible way of transferring technology to the Zambians. With the latest technology we are using in our new investments we expect the local professionals to take charge after expatriate staff have left, that way the technology will remain here.
“Our approach has been to attach two or three local professionals to one expatriate and so far the system has worked well as some operational centres are entirely under the supervision of Zambians,” he said.
The other way KCM sees as a window to transfer technology to the Zambians is by making them work side by side with high-profile contractors, such as South Africa’s Moolmans and Brazil’s U&M, who are using state-of-the-art technology in their operations.
KCM has set its sights on a 500,000 tonne per annum production capacity, representing a 50 per cent share in the gross national output every year, currently standing at one million tonnes.
The confidence to beat the ambitious target rests on three key projects - the $375 million ultra-modern smelter at Nchanga Mine in Chingola, the concentrator and Konkola Deep Mining Project, which is expected to be commissioned by April 2010 when shaft 4 - being deepened to reach 1,490 metres - is completed.
“All the massive investments will require well-trained personnel to push the company’s production capacity up. But equally important, we are using these investments to empower local professionals technologically,” Mr Kumar told a group of parliamentarians who toured KCM, a subsidiary of global mining giant Vedanta Resources, on Monday.
Reflecting on the remarkable improvements Zambia has delivered to the investment climate, he said Vedanta Resources, which accounts for one-sixth of the national Gross Domestic Product, would continue expanding its project portfolio.
He said the London Stock Exchange-listed Vedanta had spent $1.5 billion on introducing new projects and revamping existing infrastructure since 2004 when it took over KCM, which has Nchanga, Konkola, Nkana, and Nampundwe mines under its umbrella.
KCM has employed 10,017 workers and 9,620 contractor employees, besides offering scholarships to prospective workers, four of whom are studying at the University of Zambia.
Mr Kumar cited some operational difficulties for KCM in 2009 driven by soaring power costs, declining ore grades, appreciating Kwacha and poor state of logistics infrastructure which has resulted in high shipment costs, with export cargo taking an average 20 days to reach the port of Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania by road.
He was, however, hopeful that the company would surmount the challenges in the coming year.
