12 Aug 2024

Jwaneng Mine is reaffirming its commitment to the highest safety standards in the workplace, in alignment with the company’s zero harm value, Acting General Manager Mr Goitseone Gadifele said this at the Inter-Departmental First Aid competition on Saturday.

Despite recording three incidents this year, one of which resulted in a fatality, Mr Gadifele emphasised that Jwaneng Mine remains steadfast in prioritising safety to uphold its reputation as the world’s safest mine.

“Our drive towards zero harm will be underpinned by learnings from these incidents, enforcing adherence to our critical controls and engaging in open conversations when reflecting on our safety culture,” he stated. In all, we must all believe that zero harm is attainable and we should be persistent in putting safety first, because it is our personal responsibility to ensure that we work and live safely at all times,” he said.

He noted that initiatives such as the First Aid competition indicated the commitment and dedication of the Botswana Chamber of Mines (BCM) and participating partners towards practical demonstration of prioritising safety in the workplace and beyond.

The Acting General Manager further noted the importance of applying the lessons learned from such initiatives to everyday life—at work, home, and on the roads. He expressed optimism that the growth of safety initiatives would help the mining sector achieve the goal of absolute zero harm.

Mr Gadifele, however, said that even though this year’s theme, ‘First Aid: An Important Link in the Chain of Survival’, was in line with individual aspirations to make a positive impact through primary response, there was need to acknowledge the challenges hindering such achievements.

“The theme reflects and resonates with our individual desire to make a positive contribution to people’s lives through First Aid with the view to prevent complications and untimely death. We are mindful of the fact that this undertaking is not a walk in the park, as we will, without doubt, encounter challenges in our endeavour to avoid untimely deaths,” he said. dream.

Meanwhile, Ore Processing and Mining departments will represent Jwaneng Mine at the BCM Inter-Mine First Aid competition penciled for Palapye next month following their triumph over 10 others on Saturday.

The Ore Processing captain, Ms Fenellah Thebe, said even though she attributed their victory to determination and hard work, their work environment required them to uphold the highest standards of safety at all times hence First Aid was important.

“In our workplace, we work with machines that can be dangerous and therefore we are always striving to be prepared to avoid a lost time injury in case an incident occurs,” she said.

For his part, the Mining Department captain Oteng Nkweetsile, said they intend to work on their mistakes to close the gaps to ensure that Jwaneng Mine retains the First Aid championship.

“For instance, I have realised that in the simulation exercise, we take a lot of time removing the patient from the high safe area before starting treatment, and that is something we are going to work on before the inter-mine competitions,” he said. ENDS