Strong safety guidelines and training at mines across Zambia must be implemented with the seriousness they deserve to avoid workplace accidents, says global metals and mining company First Quantum Minerals (FQM) government relations specialist Dr Godwin Beene.

Speaking ahead of World Day for Safety and Health at Work on April 28, the company says poor safety standards are not only a leading cause of serious injuries, but also threaten the industry and the wider economy by depressing productivity.

“A company’s productivity boils down to its human capital’s efficiency and proficiency. A healthy and skilled workforce is one of the most important aspects of a business’ success, which, in turn, feeds into national economic growth.

“For a copper-dependent country like Zambia, poor mine safety has the potential to derail the country’s development objectives as injuries impact negatively on productivity while fatalities rob the country of its resource and altogether hamper production of the country’s largest export commodity,” says Beene.

“As a company that prides itself on fostering community health and contributing positively to Zambia’s economic growth, FQM has made safety its biggest priority,” he adds.

The company has put in place a comprehensive skills development programme that it says is helping to improve operations and boost productivity at its Kansanshi mine in Solwezi and at the Sentinel mine at Kalumbila.

Under this initiative, more than 5 000 employees, including management and contractors, have been trained in first aid at different levels, for example.

“As a result of its robust safety interventions enshrined in its operational motto ‘No job is so important that it cannot be done safely’, FQM remains above the Zambia Chamber of Mines’ first aid standards, which stipulate that one miner for every five working on a project must be a qualified first aider,” the company acclaims.

It notes that FQM continuously strives to provide a safe and healthy work environment for its employees and contractors by ensuring in-depth knowledge and application of all relevant laws and regulations.

FQM has put in place a training management system that monitors safety compliance and training requirements to ensure all personnel at the mine comply with the competency requirements of their respective jobs.

Under its ‘THINK’ approach to safety, employees endeavour to think safety by taking the time to highlight a hazard, identify what could possibly go wrong leading to an accident, and then without fail, take the necessary (safety) action(s) and keep safe, the company informs.