Tati Nickel Mine To Review Operations
Monday, December 01, 2008
"We have been affected by the global financial crisis and the fall in the metal prices in particular," says Tati Nickel's Manager (for) Organisational Capability, Peter Meswele.
Tati Nickel Mine, which recovers copper, nickel and cobalt, is located a few kilometres west of Francistown.
The mother company, Norilsk Nickel International, recently warned the likelihood of cutting production at its non-Russian assets, including Tati Nickel Mine. Nickel is currently trading at about one-fifth of its record price of $51,800 a tonne reached last May.
"We are busy toying around with cost reduction strategies and other means of reducing costs," Meswele says. "We will want interventions to be put in place to make sure that we survive."
Whilst celebrating milestones in inclusivity, with notably P5 billion awarded to vulnerable groups, the report sounds a 'siren' on a dangerous and growing trend: the ballooning use of micro-procurement. That this method, designed for small-scale, efficient purchases, now accounts for a staggering 25% (P8 billion) of total procurement value is not a sign of agility, but a 'red flag'. The PPRA’s warning is unequivocal and must be...