Chronicle Editor
Own Correspondent
With many internship programmes in the mining sector suffering from harsh conditions related to sustainability, Vubachikwe Mine in Gwanda showed leadership and commitment to equipping the economy through training future generations by reviving the program which had folded owing to, amongst other reasons, the outbreak of Covid-19 in 2020.
On the job learning inevitably became a pipe dream for many young women and men who could no longer get internships as Covid wreaked havoc on the mining industry, often even shutting down some operations completely.
On the back of a cautiously pursued and widely publicised realignment and restructuring process, Vubachikwe brought back the internship programme and doubled down on their commitment to help train future mining professionals by hosting a first of its kind Chairman’s Town Hall meeting where the interns and some graduates got the rare privilege to be addressed by Vubachikwe chairman and managing director Allan Dolan as well as ask him pertinent questions around the current state of affairs at the mine and his hopes and aspirations for the future of the mine in particular, and Duration Gold Group which runs the mine.
“We have to focus on the future to see how we can grow the mine and ensure we are all part of the positive change we wish to accomplish,” said Dolan.
“What the industry and indeed Vubachikwe need is to grow sustainably but that can only happen on the back of shared values. What mining demands is both focus and commitment. There is need to build a coalition of the willing who pull together to achieve desired goals. It starts with the right people,” he said.
Dolan conceded that one of the biggest challenges, apart from capital to grow the industry, was the redundancy of equipment in mines across the nation and the need to recapitalise in line with international trends.
He emphasised the need for the industry to constantly hold itself guided by best practices in mining, citing in particular NI 43-101 which best suits the Duration vision. NI 43-101 articulates standards of disclosure for mineral projects.
In a nation where the Government has emphasised its intention to create a middle income economy by the year 2030 on the back of improved mining revenue through growth, there couldn’t have been a better demographic to speak to the chairman than the students.
Drawn from several reputable institutions from around Zimbabwe, the diverse team ensured a melting pot of ideas as well as a wealth of enthusiasm in growing and shaping the mine while also probing the future of mining in general in a fast changing technological world.
Particularly enthusiastic about a future of mining that is technologically competent was Kevin Mukwembi who graduated from the University of Zimbabwe.
“As technological services are an enabling service in an ever-changing world, there is need to start even by digitising data and keep in line with international digital standards for the ease of operations including audit amongst other things,” said Kevin.
“There is also need for introduction of various software as well as further software training amongst staff as we look to a changing world,” he added. The superiors were impressed and challenged.
“We take seriously what has been contributed by the students and also have started working hard at ensuring the best quality provision of other things that they said they needed for a safer working environment, including procuring personal protective equipment (PPE) which our safety, health and environment department is constantly looking at ensuring is provided,” said the Vubachikwe human resources supervisor Mr Tafara Mpofu.
The meeting was attended by the human resources, safety, health and environment and quality team as well and facilitated by the communications department.
Blessing Chizhande
Online Reporter