Four miners perished at Vedanta Resources Plc owned Konkola Copper Mine in Zambia after an accident, barely days after another miner died at the Chinese owned Chambishi copper unit.
The miners, employees of a Zambian privately owned company, ZCon and contracted by Konkola Copper Mines died on March 25 during an accident at a new concentrator expansion project at Nchanga mine. Both Zambia police copperbelt commanding officer, Dr Martin Malama and KCM spokesperson Ms Jacquiline Kabeta confirmed the death of the four miners in separate interviews.
According to Police the 4 miners died after earth collapsed on them while working at Nchanga concentrator where KCM is undertaking some expansion to the project. He declined to divulge more details.
Ms Kabeta spokesperson of KCM said that the four contractors died because of the fall in the ground which happened at the new East Mill expansion project and that the project was under the contractor ZCon construction company.
The accident which occurred at 15.00hrs local time was because the workers were trapped while working on the project following the collapse of the earth surface. The four victims were pronounced dead upon arrival at a nearby mine hospital. It caused four fatalities at the new East Mill expansion project, the civil works project was under ZCon construction.
The miner regretted the incident and that with deepest sorrows; it would strive to ensure that such incidents did not recur. This is the second tragedy within the week after another miner died at the Chinese owned Chambishi mine on March 21.
Dr Malama police regional commanding officer of Copperbelt confirmed that the death of Mr Albert Bwalya after he was run over by a loader while working at 150 meters underground around 10.00hrs on the fateful day. Deaths at mining units, especially those mining copper in Zambia have been on the increase in recent months, reached more than 20 despite President’s plea to mining companies to exercise maximum safety to ensure workers were protected.
Mr Banda president of Zambia had during the commissioning of Chibuluma South ore body another unit of NFCA last year, asked all mining companies to ensure safety of workers was prioritized as they were cardinal to the development of their projects. He said that while mining companies needed to maximize on the profits from their investments, it was important that safety was given due consideration noting that it was important for miners to work in safe and healthy conditions.
During the commissioning of production at the USD 160 million Nonferrous Corporation Africa Mining Chambishi west ore body project last December, Mr Banda directed investors to engage Zambians in jobs that can be done by local people
He said that he has received complaints that despite the country’s impressive economic growth, unemployment levels remain high. Zambia is Africa’s largest copper producer and is striving to maximize copper production this year in which it forecast to produce 900,000 per tonne and later increase to 5 million tonnes in the next 5 years and remain competitive on the global metal market where the base metal is fetching an average USD 10,000 per tonne.
(Filed by Mr Kapembwa Sinkamba SteelGuru Correspondent Zambia)
