Implats Impala Pltinum Rustenburg operation.
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Platinum group metals mining company Implats said on Friday that it was ready for a "safe and orderly" start up once it is given the go-ahead to resume full-scale production at its operations, where Covid-19 preventative safety and health measures had been significantly strengthened.
Internal planning to secure operational resilience during the coronavirus pandemic has been ongoing since January and a systematic increase in labour attendance had been planned at the Impala Rustenburg and Marula operations from April 14, in line with the permissions received from the regulator, the company said in a news release to Mining Weekly.
That followed all South African operations – Impala Rustenburg mining, processing and refining and Marula mining and concentrating – being successfully placed on care and maintenance from Thursday, March 26.
“We've been working tirelessly since the emergence of the virus, to safeguard our employees and ensure the sustainability of our company,” Implats CEO Nico Muller stated.
Implats said that its operational strategy was aimed at securing the integrity of key infrastructure and facilitating a safe start-up once operations were cleared to resume.
The South African operations would advance measures to manage a gradual return to work from Friday, April 17, responsibly, taking the precautionary measures necessary to protect employees and the management team continues to engage with the relevant authorities in this regard.
Regarding preventative measures, Implats said it had implemented and enforced several measures to provide protection to employees at work and had rolled out a number of programmes which have been in development internally since the threat of coronavirus emerged in January.
During the lockdown:
- stock levels of medical protective equipment and personal protective equipment (PPE) had been increased;
- regular large-scale workplace disinfection was being performed;
- screening and testing procedures had been implemented for all employees reporting to work to perform essential services;
- a meaningful increase in medical care preparedness had been undertaken through enlarging the capacity of internal medical facilities in collaboration with industry peers, public-private partnerships and local and regional medical institutions;
- management teams had introduced operating procedures aimed at lowering the risk of viral infections in high-risk work areas and for vulnerable employees through improved hygiene, physical distancing in work and travel, additional PPE provision and screening and testing procedures;
- the skin temperature of essential services employees was being thermo-scanned; and
- where necessary, core temperature screening of employees was taking place ahead of their entry into work areas; and
- employees with abnormal temperatures would be isolated in dedicated areas at the operations and then transported to designated medical facilities for diagnosis and, if necessary, testing, quarantine or hospitalisation.
Implats said that a key part of its return-to-work strategy had been to identify potentially vulnerable employees and to institute additional specific precautionary measures to increase protection.
Such protection included the provision of vitamin and dietary supplements, flu vaccinations and critical medical screening.
In addition, employees had been provided with prepackaged supplies of chronic medication for a period of six months to ensure high-risk employees did not need to visit hospitals or clinics during the six-month period.
Suitable temporary company accommodation was also being availed to employees unable to self-isolate or practise recommended physical distancing measures when not at work.
At the time of going to press, no Covid-19 cases have been diagnosed among employees or their dependants at the group’s South African and Zimbabwean operations.
South Africa’s national lockdown of all nonessential businesses and services was effective from midnight Thursday, March 26, and will continue until midnight on Thursday, April 30, following last Thursday’s two-week extension.
In terms of the latest amendment to the regulations, mining operations may now conduct activities at a reduced capacity of not more than 50% during the extended lockdown period, subject to the implementation of specified precautionary measures aimed at protecting employees and limiting the spread of the virus.
Once the provisions of the lockdown have been lifted, operations may ramp up capacity further as determined by the Mineral Resources and Energy Minister.
Implats said it supported the lockdown measures to reduce the spread of the coronavirus and welcomed the amended regulations, which would, it said, assist in securing critical mining infrastructure and mitigate the severe impact of these measures on the lives and livelihoods of employees, host communities and suppliers.
OPERATIONAL UPDATE
As previously indicated, management had met with organised labour at national and branch level before the lockdown began and agreed to continue paying full salaries to all employees during the 21-day lockdown period.
However, it was communicated to all stakeholders that the group’s financial position could not sustain this arrangement post the initial 21-day lockdown period and therefore alternative arrangements would be implemented should the lockdown period continue beyond the originally envisaged 21 days.
The group's standpoint was unchanged in this regard but remained open to exploring alternative measures with its social partners to assist employees where possible.
“We’re living in times of unprecedented uncertainty, which requires new ways of thinking and innovative solutions to challenges we have not faced before. At Implats, we’ve taken several proactive steps to safeguard our business, with a key focus on securing and ensuring the wellbeing of our employees.
“As management, we maintain regular and open communication with our key stakeholders including our employees, organised labour and the national governments of Zimbabwe, South Africa and Canada.
“To this end, we’ll continue to enhance our strategies for a successful resumption of operating activities. This is necessary to secure the vital role our company plays in the livelihoods of our employees, our host communities and the national economies in which we operate,” Muller said.
Implats said it would provide additional updates as the situation developed. In addition, guidance on operations would be provided in the scheduled third-quarter production update on April 30.