Miners fear machines are taking over at Debswana
Mbongeni Mguni | Friday January 15, 2021 17:19
Debswana has more than 5,000 workers with a large number of these engaged in actual mining operations which could be affected by the greater roll-out of mechanisation.
In the first week of January, Debswana cancelled a P15.7 billion contract to expand Jwaneng Mine, saying it would do the work in-house. Mineworkers however said the move is linked to plans by the diamond giant to mechanise its mining methods for the new area to be mined in the expanded Jwaneng Mine.
On Tuesday, Debswana officials said the contract with Majwe Mining was being terminated in order for Debswana to transition from contractor-mining to owner-mining with “with some of the key services and resources, such as labour, being provided by contractors/service providers to Jwaneng Mine”.
The mining group this week declined to provide clarity on what factors had led to terminating the nine-year contract just two years after it came into effect.
It is understood Majwe Mining had about 300 workers on board at the time of the contract termination and many more employed by sub-contractors. Debswana has said it will endeavour to absorb as many of the affected workers, but will reportedly not guarantee that all will be re-employed.
Mineworkers, meanwhile, said the contract cancellation was just part of a “radical transformation strategy” Debswana had embarked upon to streamline its operations and costs by introducing mechanised mining, among others.
The BMWU believes the strategy is aligned to Anglo American’s “FutureSmart Mining” policy which the global mining group says is anchored on technology, digitalisation and sustainability. Anglo American owns 85% of De Beers, which in turn is a 50/50 partner in Debswana.
On its website, Anglo American says the FutureSmart Mining policy involves achieving a “much-reduced environmental footprint from new ways of mining, including by using a number of precision mining technologies and data analytics”. The mining giant says across its mines, it is applying technologies that “more precisely target the desired metals or minerals, delivering greater than 30% reductions in the use of water, energy and capital intensity, and producing less waste in the process”.
“Debswana confirmed the radical transformation strategy at our previous engagements,” Botswana Mine Workers Union vice president, Desmond Seomeng told Mmegi yesterday. “They said the strategy’s point is to bring technology that will run the mining operations. “They have said this will be done in phases from 2021 and we suspect the cancellation of the contract is part of the effort to make the expanded area more mechanised.”
Seomeng, who is also spokesperson of Joint Negotiation Consultative Committee between the Union and Debswana, said mineworkers have not been given official reasons for Majwe Mine’s contract cancellation or more details on the transformation strategy.
“Their memo said they are cutting the contract in order to do the work in-house, without giving details. “If they had said they are looking for another contractor, we would not think these others things,” he said.
The BMWU says the closure of Damtshaa and the Orapa Number 1 plant last year are also possibly linked to the new radical transformation strategy’s desire to force down production costs by squeezing the workforce smaller.
“The impact will be huge on the mining industry,” said Seomeng. “Just in Jwaneng already, there are businesses that were being supported by the workers from the contractor and sub-contractor. “Majwe cannot keep them on and will have to effect force majeur.”
The BMWU is set to meet Majwe Mining officials on January 20 and Debswana on February 3. Mineworkers say they will decide on the way forward after these meetings, although insiders say little can be done to stop the strategy to mechanise or reduce production costs by alternative means.
“Botswana is a mineral rich country and Debswana is the second largest employer after government,” the Union said in a statement on Wednesday. “Implementation of a strategy of this nature will cause a spike in unemployment in Botswana. “Perhaps the question to ask is if technology is necessary in Botswana;’s mining sector? “Is it not premature to initiate such a strategy amidst these unprecedented times of COVID-19?”
Debswana officials declined to respond to Mmegi’s enquiries about the BMWU’s statements.