Zimplats holds a safety symposium
Zimplats held a safety symposium on the 16th of June 2022, for contractors who will be working with the company on various aspects of its $1.8bn expansion programme.
More than 160 participants representing over 70 contractors attended the symposium that was held at the company’s premises in Mhondoro- Ngezi. Zimplats is undertaking a US$1.8 billion expansion programme comprising nine projects which will be implemented over a 10-year period These include:
- Development of Mupani mine to replace Rukodzi and Ngwarati mines at a cost of US$388 million.
- Construction of a third Concentrator Plant at a cost of US$133million with nameplate capacity of 0.9Mtpa. Project is scheduled for commissioning in first-quarter FY2023
- Implementation of the SMC concentrator tailings dam extension project to sustain the operation at the termination of the existing tailings storage facility (TSF) when it reaches its maximum design height of 43m.
- Sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions abatement (US$200m) and Smelter expansion (US$280m) projects at SMC
- Platinum Group Metals (PGM) Base Metal refinery plant at SMC (US$200m)
- Implementation of employee houses project in Turf, an additional 1052 houses and 340 houses in Chegutu (for SMC employees) at a cost of US$20m
- 110 MWAC Solar power plant (US$201m), investment in the development of a 185MW solar photovoltaic plant
- Hartley mine development (US$289m), to increase overall Zimplats ore production to 8.8Mtpa by FY2028.
- Bimha mine upgrade (US$82m).
Zimplats believes that safety is of paramount importance in the rollout of these projects and that it is imperative to the attainment of sustainable business.
The expansion programme will bring together a significant number of contractors. Zimplats currently has nearly 7000 employees working at both the company’s Ngezi and Selous sites. Three thousand and five hundred of these are contract employees and the numbers are expected to double over the next five years.
Participants at the symposium were encouraged to invest in recognised systems, cultivating safe employee behaviour and creating a workplace environment that promotes safety.
Speaking at the symposium, the Managing Director for Zimplats, Mr Stanley Segula said, ‘as you bring together diverse business and safety cultures, there is need to align and ensure a common vision in the quest for zero harm. We have embarked on a journey that will create measurable value for our stakeholders and on our country’s economy. We cannot travel this journey alone; we need to carry all our key stakeholders, including contractors, on board with us” as we seek to create a better future through the metals we produce and the way in which we do business.
He paid tribute to all the contractor company CEOs, M.D’s and senior management who attended the symposium, stating that,” for safety systems to work optimally and for zero harm to be achievable, company leaders need to be the drivers. If all contractors working with Zimplats are committed to the safety agenda, we can deliver the various projects ahead of us safely..
Responding to the various presentations, a contractor representative commented, ‘Zero harm can be achieved by carrying out all risk assessments on all tasks and adhering to set standards and procedures. It’s about commitment and perseverance.”
At the end of the symposium, all the contractor companies signed a pledge committing to lead by example in cultivating a safe production culture, promoting values of respect, care and delivery, and supporting the quest for sustainable zero harm whilst subscribing to the various quality systems that are the bedrock of Zimplats’ operations. The leaders also committed to enforce zero tolerance for any breaches of standards and procedures.