Former cleaner demonstrates opportunities for training and promotion
KALUMBILA, ZAMBIA – Meet Bwalya Musonda, who through hard work and determination graduated from workshop cleaner to a productive rope shovel operator.
And now he is passing on his vast skills, experience and knowledge to a new generation of operatives as the world’s best rope shovel training supervisor at one of the biggest mines in the country.
Mr Musonda started his mining industry career over 15 years ago, initially a cleaner in the workshop for an underground mine, before being promoted to operator of front-end loaders, thenprogressing to excavators and ADT (articulated dump trucks).
After his previous employers closed, he found new employment with First Quantum Minerals (FQM) at its Sentinel Mine in Kalumbila.
Mr Musonda’s hard work did not go un-noticed at Zambia’s biggest mining firm, and he quickly progressed to operating some of the biggest and newest machines in the mining industry across the globe.
“When I joined FQM, my first role in the company was operating small excavators, which are about 12 cubic metres per bucket. When they brought in a new and bigger excavator, which is about 28 cubic metres, I started operating it until I was moved to the rope shovel, which is 58 cubic metres”.
Rope shovels are the huge machines that scoop ore from the ground and load it on trucks for transport to crushers and the processing plant. Their size enables the mine to achieve the economies of scale and efficiency vital for the profitability of a mine such as Sentinel with low-grades of ore.
Mr. Musonda added that First Quantum has been identifying talented Zambian staff and offering them a chance to rise to the top of the mining industry through training programmes aimed at improving their skills.
Breaking a world record…
As the mining industry continues to push the boundaries of mechanisation, the country’s largest copper miner has observed that a long-term solution the skills gap between expatriates and local people that reflects a shortage of highly skilled and qualified employees.
Thanks to the progression opportunities the mining firm has been providing to its employees, in 2018 Mr Musonda became the first-ever Zambian to be awarded a global accolade as the best rope shovel operator, after moving the most copper ore in the fastest time than anyone else in the world.
“There is software introduced by Caterpillar – the manufacturers of the rope shovel – which measures the dig cycle of the operators. The rope shovel can load up to 5,000 tonnes of copper ore in an hour. But you can even go up to 9,000 tonnes, depending on how efficient you are”.
This type of machinery is the biggest in the world and it has helped the mine to save on operational costs because it uses electricity, which is much cheaper than diesel,” he said.
“I am a person who likes and believes in quality, and I also like expanding my knowledge base; and I like trying out new things. So, looking back from where I started to where I am now, I would say that I have achieved a lot in my career so far. The training that the mine provides is very important because it helps employees keep up with the developments taking place in the mining industry in terms of new machinery and software,” Mr Musonda added.
Doing it the FQM way…
“Being a multinational mining company, FQM has put in place policies that have helped people from different races, cultures, nationalities, and creeds, work for the greater good of the company,” said Kalumbila Minerals Ltd Assistant General Manager Junior Keyser.
“The mine has taken a stance where it engages the local communities helping them to work together. Being a multinational company, FQM had made sure that all employees coexist and live up to the motto of Bolder, Smarter, Driven, Together,” he continued.
Vision for the future…
“I like to inspire people in everything I do. And one of those ways is through music, which I do in my spare time. So, in the next five to ten years, I see myself as someone big in the mining industry and still teaching people be it at the workplace or through my music,” said Mr Musonda. |