BCL Mine prepares for shutdown

Makaba said the electrical furnace had been in use for 10 years and had to be repaired. The shutdown will employ between 800 and 900 employees of contractors, 275 of whom will be foreigners.  Because of the expected influx of people, security will be tightened to ensure that no theft or pilfering will occur, Makaba said.

The repair work will entail replacement of old parts that will have particles of copper and nickel, which must be secured. Makaba said all law-enforcement agencies - including the police, the prisons department, Immigration, the council's bye-law enforcement unit, Botswana Unified Revenue Services (BURS), the labour department and private security companies - had been informed of the shutdown and repair work.