By MOFFAT CHAZINGWA –
GOVERNMENT is optimistic that most of the 4, 000 miners that have been laid off at Mopani Copper Mines (MCM) will be re-employed once the Glencore-owned mining firm’s ambitious transformation programmes begin to bear fruit next year.
MCM is currently implementing three key projects involving the sinking of the Synclinorium and Mindolo Deep shafts in Kitwe’s Wusakile and Mindolo Townships, respectively, with the third one in Mufulira aimed at transforming the company into a world-class mining operation.
The mining giant has since launched ‘The Mopani Way’ strategy targetted at helping the firm overcome the current challenges with the view of becoming profitable and operationally efficient.
Chief Government spokesperson Chishimba Kambwili, who graced the launch of the strategy during a dinner characterised with a theatrical presentation of the ‘Mopani Way’ at the Kitwe Little Theatre on Saturday evening, said he was convinced that more than 4, 000 jobs would soon be created by MCM.
Mr Kambwili, who is Information and Broadcasting Services minister, said the Government was positive that MCM’s vision of turning around its operations into a world-class mining company was not far-fetched, especially that the current administration had committed itself to creating and sustaining an enabling environment that would support economic growth.
“Government is convinced that, once all the projects being undertaken by MCM come on board and copper prices pick up, more than 4, 000 jobs will be created by MCM, which will enable most of the retrenched miners and other youths to be re-employed, as this is a sure way of creating jobs,” Mr Kambwili said.
He was particularly happy that as a way of achieving its vision to turn MCM operations around, the mining firm had staked in excess of US$1.1 billion on sinking of the three shafts.
MCM chief executive officer Johan Jansen said since inception, $2.8 billion had been invested by Glencore in upgrading infrastructure and major capital expansion programmes, with a further $1.1 billion earmarked to complete the construction of the company’s new shafts.
“By launching the Mopani Way, we are making a commitment to re-energise our workforce and focus for 2023,” Mr Jansen said.