Chronicle Editor
YEARS after the equipment went cold and ground to a halt following an illegal worker’s strike at Vubachikwe Gold Mine in Gwanda, Matabeleland South, a new project has kicked into life which will eventually culminate in the unrolling in earnest of the mine’s reopening plan code-named Restart.
The mine, which had been mismanaged by successive regimes of incompetent management as well as most recently leadership with mercenary intent most recently led by South African national Marida Van Der Spur (alias Maria Kruishaar), has now defined a fresh path starting with a small-scale project that has seen morale amongs the workers rise as they expect to get back to self-sufficiency after under two years of relying on sister companies in the Duration Gold Limited mining portfolio.
The project was cold commissioned by the mine manager Mr None Kananji as well as key senior managers and several staff members a fortnight ago, sending hope and direction among the workers, particularly those who have kept the mine alive under a care and maintenance system.
Engineer in charge of the commissioning, Mr Mecklas Ngoma, oversaw the project whose cold commissioning proceeded successfully and without incident, with the new equipment purchased for the programme running effortlessly and without a glitch.
Mine manager Kananji was elated.
“It has taken quite a while to get here but any restart operation needs to be backed by a solid plan and research to avoid the pitfalls of the past as well as to put together a roadmap that ensures unbridled success into the future and this we have done without any shred of doubt,” he said.
The mine invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into a workout plan towards reopening which saw them commission internationally reputed consultants from South Africa to determine the state of the mine as well as draw up a resource-building exercise. The exercise should culminate in the building of at least five years of resources in the life of the mine as management builds towards moving the asset from a small mine by international standards to a medium-sized significant mine.
Unmistakable was the palpable sense of unity of purpose, camaraderie and delight among the mine workers, as it became apparent to them that they had successfully taken the first step emerging from the darkness that the past one year and then some had visited upon them.
While there were detractors working with external forces to impede progress including through attempts to turn key workforce as well as through impotent sponsored litigious exercises, the legal processes have largely come to naught.
“We have decided we shall be going forward and shall be unshakeable. There were bad apples spreading false narratives for ages on the state of the mine but now our workers can see the facts and the truth and that the merchants for the detractors are relying on lies and their imaginations. We have resolved to come together as the workers and management to bring back to its feet our precious asset and leave those who are conniving against the dream behind along with their sponsors while the rest of us unite with our impending success,” said a spokesperson for the mine.
The project is expected to start operations within the next few days, contributing yet again to the nation’s gold production and the national dream espoused by President Emmerson Mnangagwa of building an upper-middle-income economy by the year 2030 with mining being the key player in the matrix of national development.
Online Reporter