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MORE than 1,000 unionised workers at Lumwana Copper Mines,a unit of Barrick Gold Limited have received an 11 percent wage increase with immediate effect, the Zambia’s mining union’s general secretary Joseph Chewe says.
The upward adjustment for the miners, which comes into effect immediately has been the fruits of protracted negotiations between the Mine workers Union of Zambia and mine management in accordance with the collective agreement signed between the two parties to review workers conditions of service and other employees’ welfare.
The upward pay adjustment of 11 percent, across the board, follows the successful signing of the 2014 collective agreement between the mine unions and Barrick-Lumwana management recently, added Chewe by phone noting that the 11 per cent salary increment was for only for one year subject to review.
And workers of South African- owned Sable-Zinc in Kabwe in central Zambia, about 150 kilometres from the Zambian capital, Lusaka, have received a 12 percent wage increase across the board covering a similar period of one year, Chew added.
The union, or MUZ is grateful for the cordial relations and harmony that prevailed during the negotiations with the two mining companies in Zambia as well as the workers for their patience during the negotiation period leading to the signing of the collective agreement recently.
The workers body has since implored the workers to work hard and increase productivity and attain maximum profits which will culminate into improved conditions of services noting that the hard work would be used as platform for the union to negotiate for better and improved conditions of service.
“This is the only way that they too will be able to expect even much more improved conditions of service and increased salaries,” Chewe added.
Barrick Gold Limited are the new owners of Lumwana Copper Mines, Zambia’s latest Greenfield open cast project that was previously owned by Equinox Limited since 1998.
The Lumwana copper mine, with more than 5 million tons of uranium mined and placed aside by the company for lack of a policy direction from the Government, is located in Zambia, in one of the most prospective copper regions in the world.
Lumwana ore, which is predominantly sulphide, is treated through a conventional sulphide flotation plant, producing copper concentrate for smelting.
In the first nine months of 2013, Lumwana produced 193 million pounds of copper at cash costs of $2.34 per pound1 and fully allocated costs of $3.04 per pound. Its proven and probable copper reserves as at December 31, 2012 were 6.0 billion pounds.
The mine continues to benefit from changes made to the mine plan in Q2 2013 and other business improvement initiatives to decrease costs and maximize cash flow. Due to the mine’s better operating performance, Barrick has improved its full-year 2013 company-wide copper guidance, the mine said on its website.
