Modern Mining April 2015

COUNTRY FOCUS – ZAMBIA

stakeholder engagement,” said Mwila. “This includes a company’s mine-level engage- ment with communities and interest groups, as well as interactions with different levels of govern- ment. And it is not just the number and diversity of relationships that is important; it is the quality and robustness of the partnerships that is key to sustain- ability – whether at mine level or at corporate level.” Mwila emphasised the positive steps that have been made in the mining sector toward continuous engagement between stakeholders, as they worked out the best ways to achieve mutually constructive goals. “Despite the rocky patches,” he said, “it is a path to which all parties must remain committed.” 

the secondary roads at the mine,” van der Merwe notes. As part of the study, a haulage road was divided into equal sections to be treated with water only and with RDC 20 for com- parative purposes. The results revealed that the use of RDC 20 as a replacement dust suppressant solution for water resulted in an almost twofold improvement in every vari- able, including dust fallout, fuel usage, water usage and carbon footprint. According to van der Merwe, I-CAT’s mis- sion is to prevent environmentally harmful products from affecting and contaminat- ing runoff streams and dams. “I-CAT Zambia has been registered with the Zambian Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) since 2012, and our entire product line has been tested and declared as environment- friendly by ZEMA. Bearing this in mind, I am confident of increasing future market share in the Zambian mining industry,” he concludes.  Another important initiative is the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), set up as a coalition of gov- ernments, companies and civil society to provide a global standard for accountable management of natural resources. Working in various mining countries – including Zambia – the EITI seeks to strengthen gov- ernment and company reporting systems, inform public debate and enhance trust. “In much the same vein, the range of our work as consulting engineers has expanded beyond the traditional disci- plines (such as geological, geotechnical, mining, hydrology and environmental ser- vices) into the increasingly vital sphere of infrastructure spending and higher public sector wages. “As serious as these disagreements over royalties are, however, they are certainly not uncommon – nor are they specific to Africa,” he pointed out. “In fact, the global mining sector has in recent decades made considerable progress in addressing these sorts of issues, having recognised the importance of stakeholder engagement in working towards long-term sustainability.” He said one industry body, the Interna­ tional Council on Mining and Metals, was formed nearly 15 years ago to focus on the role of mining in a sustainable future. Among its 10 guiding principles is “effective and transparent engagement, communica- tion and independently verified reporting arrangements with our stakeholders”.

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April 2015  MODERN MINING  47