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Best Safety Practices in Zambia’s Copper Industry
Miners who work for non-Chinese multinational corporations in Zambia’s copper industry
described safety practices that could be informative in improving the standards in the Chinese-run
companies. One of the biggest problems in several Chinese operations is the provision and
maintenance of personal protective equipment (PPE). Miners at Kansanshi, Konkola Copper Mines
(KCM), and Mopani Copper Mines all told Human Rights Watch that they receive replacements for
torn or otherwise damaged PPE without losing pay. A pump operator at the Canadian-owned
Kansanshi processing plant told Human Rights Watch:
They are very good on safety, the credit goes to them. They do not tolerate bad
work equipment. If it’s torn, they replace it, they exchange it immediately. They
really try to maintain safety, to keep the place accident free. We have gone one
million hours fatality free. 181
An engineer at the mainly Swiss-owned Mopani said similarly: “Mopani is fine in terms of PPE. All
you have to do is go to the safety officer, who will write it up and provide you with new equipment
because of a premature failure. Sometimes he’ll just give you a new one on the spot, other times it
has to be reviewed.” 182 Another worker at Mopani said that there are signs clearly marked “respirator
area” in places involving fumes, dust, or chemicals, and all employees there must have and wear a
respirator—including any casuals. 183 As noted above, however, another miner at Mopani’s Mufulira
mine complained about serious ventilation problems underground that led to respiratory disease—a
finding backed by 2008 research into dust levels at the Mopani-run mines. 184
When accidents do occur, the provision of quick, on-site treatment is needed. An artisan fitter in
Mopani’s engineering department told Human Rights Watch that, at its Mufulira mining site, the
company has first aid clinics in all of the departments. 185 A nurse at a health clinic run for employees of
Chambishi Metals, a cobalt processing plant owned by a Kazakhstani natural resources company
headquartered in London, said that the company had trained people on site to provide immediate first
aid when necessary; if the case was serious, the person was then brought to the clinic. 186 At CNMCowned
Sino Metals, by contrast, employees said that they have neither an ambulance nor a first aid
clinic on site, but rather must rely on those stationed at the NFCA site several kilometers away. 187 As
181 Human Rights Watch interview with pump operator at Kansanshi, Solwezi, November 12, 2010.
182 Human Rights Watch interview with engineer A at Mopani, Mufulira, November 16, 2010.
183 Human Rights Watch interview with crane operator in the smelter at Mopani, Mufulira, November 16, 2010.
184 See footnote 89.
185 Human Rights Watch interview with artisan fitter at Mopani, Mufulira, November 16, 2010.
186 Human Rights Watch interview with nurse at health clinic for employees of Chambishi Metals, Kalulushi, November 4, 2010.
187 Human Rights Watch interview with miner B in the thickener plant, Kitwe, November 7, 2010.
61 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | NOVEMBER 2011