By Business Reporter – Tuesday 26 March 2019
HARARE – (Mining Index) – BLANKET Gold Mine last year introduced a safety and innovative training program for its workforce aimed at enhancing disaster preparedness following two fatal accidents at the mine.
The safety program named Nyanzvi, has seen approximately 45 percent of Blanket Mine employees completing the safety program in 2018.
“In response to the most recent accidents, we introduced an innovative approach to safety training called the Nyanzvi initiative which exposes workers to an intensive, week-long safety programme,” said Caledonia Mining Corporation Chief Executive Officer Steve Curtis.
“Unfortunately, during the Year there were two fatal accidents at Blanket. The safe production of gold is our primary objective and safety can never be compromised.”
Curtis said Nyanzvi focuses on behavioural change, designed and implemented with employee participation of the programme which results in a high degree of employee ownership of the problem and the solution.
In February this year, eight artisanal miners were rescued alive while 28 perished in the Battlefields disaster that took place in Kadoma-Battlefields due to lack of safety precautions by most artisanal miners in conducting their mining operations.
“Safety remains RioZim Limited’s primary concern in all of its mining operations and whilst it has taken all steps to prohibit and discourage unauthorized mining on all of its mining locations, it continues to work with the Ministry of Mines and Zimbabwe Republic Police to educate artisanal miners on the dangers of unauthorized mining activities and to promote and educate them on safe and legal mining methods,” noted RioZim group corporate affairs executive Wilson Gwatiringa in response to the Kadoma mine disaster. ENDS//
