Mines Minister appeals as mine closes
Posté: Jeu 6 Jan 2011 08:27
Mines Minister appeals as mine closes
By NKWETO MFULA and ANGELA CHISHIMBA
MINISTER of Mines and Minerals Development Maxwell Mwale has appealed to First Quantum Minerals (FQM) to re-deploy most of the workers at the closed Bwana Mkubwa mine.
FQM closed down the mine in Ndola on January 5 due to lack of processing materials, leaving hundreds of workers redundant.
“I hope FQM can re-deploy most of the workers to other operations at Kansanshi mine,” Mr Mwale said.
Mr Mwale said Bwana Mkubwa mine has exhausted mineral deposits and has naturally come to the end of its life.
“What was in the ground is finished. The mine can only remain operational if it has materials,” he said.
He said the only option could be for the mine to find copper ore deposits in Mkushi where FQM is exploring.
Mr Mwale, however, said the limitation with this option could be the distance.
The copper ore has completely run out at the mine established in 1902. Only recently, the mine employed about 600 workers. In view of the closure, some of them have been redeployed to Kansanshi mine in Solwezi.
Bwana Mkubwa mine technical manager Andries Scott also confirmed the closure of the mine on January 5.
Since the beginning of 2010, the mine, which had a production capacity of 50,000 tonnes of copper cathodes per year, has been on and off due to lack of raw materials.
Mr Scott said in 2000, the mine employed over 1,000 workers.
“We have finally closed the mine and only about 40 people are still doing some jobs on dump sites as required by environmental regulations,” he said.
Mr Scott said currently, the skeleton staff is carrying out care and maintenance works.
He said FQM’s Lonshi mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the company used to get its raw materials, has also been closed.
The pre-colonial mining activities at Bwana Mkubwa, rediscovered by William Collier and Jack Donohoe in 1902, were the most extensive in Zambia.
In January 1913, Bwana Mkubwa was the only mine on the Copperbelt that produced copper on a commercial basis. Bwana Mkubwa mine was privatised by the Zambia Privatisation Agency in February 1997.
Mr Scott said FQM took over the mine in February 1997. In 2008, Bwana Mkubwa mine was closed for a year after the closure of the border with the DRC to restrict the importation of raw materials from that country.
“The whole of 2009, the mine was closed and was only re-opened in 2010 when the border was re-opened,” he said.
The mine was closed again in October 2010 and put under care and maintenance due to lack of processing materials. Mr Scott said the company explored the possibility of establishing a mine in Mkushi for the acquisition of raw materials, but the project was not viable.
Some equipment, including the road department facilities, motor vehicles and many others, have also been moved to Kansanshi Mine.
FQM will now concentrate on its Trident project, west of Lumwana Mine in Solwezi, where it is carrying out drilling projects to determine the strength of the ore body.
Mr Scott is hopeful that once explorations are completed, operations could begin within 2011.
And Chamber of Mines president Nathan Chishimba said the closure of the mine was inevitable, given the circumstances in which the company has found itself.
Mr Chishimba said FQM has been forced to close the mine because it cannot continue running the plant without raw materials but is hopeful that the company will soon come up with a solution.
Mineworkers Union of Zambia general secretary Aswell Munyenyembe said it is unfortunate that the mine has closed down.
He said when any company closes, there is always loss of employment and revenue which is supposed to go to Government.
Mr Munyenyembe said FQM’s reasons for the closure of the plant are genuine because it depended solely on raw materials from other sources.
He said the union intends to meet the FQM management, after which it will issue a statement on the matter.
By NKWETO MFULA and ANGELA CHISHIMBA
MINISTER of Mines and Minerals Development Maxwell Mwale has appealed to First Quantum Minerals (FQM) to re-deploy most of the workers at the closed Bwana Mkubwa mine.
FQM closed down the mine in Ndola on January 5 due to lack of processing materials, leaving hundreds of workers redundant.
“I hope FQM can re-deploy most of the workers to other operations at Kansanshi mine,” Mr Mwale said.
Mr Mwale said Bwana Mkubwa mine has exhausted mineral deposits and has naturally come to the end of its life.
“What was in the ground is finished. The mine can only remain operational if it has materials,” he said.
He said the only option could be for the mine to find copper ore deposits in Mkushi where FQM is exploring.
Mr Mwale, however, said the limitation with this option could be the distance.
The copper ore has completely run out at the mine established in 1902. Only recently, the mine employed about 600 workers. In view of the closure, some of them have been redeployed to Kansanshi mine in Solwezi.
Bwana Mkubwa mine technical manager Andries Scott also confirmed the closure of the mine on January 5.
Since the beginning of 2010, the mine, which had a production capacity of 50,000 tonnes of copper cathodes per year, has been on and off due to lack of raw materials.
Mr Scott said in 2000, the mine employed over 1,000 workers.
“We have finally closed the mine and only about 40 people are still doing some jobs on dump sites as required by environmental regulations,” he said.
Mr Scott said currently, the skeleton staff is carrying out care and maintenance works.
He said FQM’s Lonshi mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the company used to get its raw materials, has also been closed.
The pre-colonial mining activities at Bwana Mkubwa, rediscovered by William Collier and Jack Donohoe in 1902, were the most extensive in Zambia.
In January 1913, Bwana Mkubwa was the only mine on the Copperbelt that produced copper on a commercial basis. Bwana Mkubwa mine was privatised by the Zambia Privatisation Agency in February 1997.
Mr Scott said FQM took over the mine in February 1997. In 2008, Bwana Mkubwa mine was closed for a year after the closure of the border with the DRC to restrict the importation of raw materials from that country.
“The whole of 2009, the mine was closed and was only re-opened in 2010 when the border was re-opened,” he said.
The mine was closed again in October 2010 and put under care and maintenance due to lack of processing materials. Mr Scott said the company explored the possibility of establishing a mine in Mkushi for the acquisition of raw materials, but the project was not viable.
Some equipment, including the road department facilities, motor vehicles and many others, have also been moved to Kansanshi Mine.
FQM will now concentrate on its Trident project, west of Lumwana Mine in Solwezi, where it is carrying out drilling projects to determine the strength of the ore body.
Mr Scott is hopeful that once explorations are completed, operations could begin within 2011.
And Chamber of Mines president Nathan Chishimba said the closure of the mine was inevitable, given the circumstances in which the company has found itself.
Mr Chishimba said FQM has been forced to close the mine because it cannot continue running the plant without raw materials but is hopeful that the company will soon come up with a solution.
Mineworkers Union of Zambia general secretary Aswell Munyenyembe said it is unfortunate that the mine has closed down.
He said when any company closes, there is always loss of employment and revenue which is supposed to go to Government.
Mr Munyenyembe said FQM’s reasons for the closure of the plant are genuine because it depended solely on raw materials from other sources.
He said the union intends to meet the FQM management, after which it will issue a statement on the matter.