Butholezwe Dube, committee member and SHEQ manager of Hwange Coal Mines Limited, addressed delegates at the premiere of this year’s Association of Mine Managers of Zimbabwe (AMMZ) General Assembly and Conference, saying that in May 2023 there were 17 companies and Four company smelting and processing plants participated in the AMMZ SHE audit, marking a positive start out of the Covid-19 induced lockdown.
“The audit was conducted in May 2023 and a total of 17 companies and 4 smelting and processing plants participated. Considering that we have just emerged from the lockdown, this is a good start. Revised audit protocol as standard. ” There are zero fatalities (0), overall reportable injury incidence (0), unintentional injury incidence (0) and unintentional injury severity (0) for the Ngwarati and Mupfuti mines,” Dube said in part.
Ngwarati bagged the trophy with the best score of 97%, followed closely by Mupfuti who scored 94% on the review list.
Dube said the SHE committee was introducing a new audit method. It will cease to be a competition between companies and evolve into a program of continuous improvement.
“Going forward, the SHE committee is changing the review from a competition to a continuous improvement program. “Companies will no longer compete against each other but against last year’s performance,” Dube said.
These reviews demonstrate the importance and effectiveness of prioritizing safety and continuous improvement. With their success, the industry has made significant progress in creating a safer place. Among other activities, the SHE Committee identified priorities including:
- Promote leadership to achieve sustainable use of resources.
- Protect the health and safety of employees, contractors and the community.
- Biodiversity and climate change.
- Capacity development – i.e. improving capabilities and competencies in SHE matters
- Standards and systems are constantly being improved.
- To meet compliance obligations across the mining industry, the SHE Council works closely with regulatory bodies such as EMA, NSSA, SAZ, the Radiation Protection Agency and the Department of Mines and Mineral Development.
The Association of Mine Managers of Zimbabwe (AMMZ) annual general meeting continues today. A new president was elected, taking over power from engineer Elton Gwatidzo, who had been at the helm of the association for two years.
The Association of Mineral Managers of Zimbabwe (AMMZ) is responsible for nominating the deputy chairperson of the committee.
