Maravi

Buried vehicles at First Quantum raise environmental concerns

Buried vehicles at First Quantum raise environmental concerns
By By Mulimbi Mulaliki
Friday March 21, 2008 [03:00]

FIRST Quantum Mining Operations Limited (FQMOL) mining division at Kansanshi Mining Plc has buried some vehicles raising environmental concerns among workers and stakeholders in Solwezi. Handing over a refurbished Toyota Hilux double cab to Zambia Police Service in Solwezi on Wednesday, FQMOL project manager Ron Day confirmed that the company buried vehicles which had outlived their lifespan within the mine area.

“The vehicles buried were just scrap and they could not be sold that is why we decided to burry them. If they were in a good condition we could have auctioned them to either members of the public or to our workers,” Day said.

Day said the company followed procedure in disposing of the vehicles, adding that the method they used was not going to pose any effect on the environment.
Solwezi Council spokesperson Kingsley Mutayachalo expressed concern by FQMO decision to burry the vehicles.

Mutayachalo said it was not safe to burry the vehicles because they remained an environmental hazard.

“They should have found a better way of disposing off the scrapped vehicles other than burying them,” Mutayachalo said.

But some workers said the buried vehicles were still running. The workers indicated that their management refused to sell the vehicles to workers fearing that they would be stealing spare parts from the ware house to be servicing the same vehicles.

“We drove those vehicles to the site where they were buried and they have decided to refurbish one of those still remaining and donated to police as a way of avoiding criticism,” the workers said.

During the donation, Kansanshi Mine public relations manager Philip Msiska said the population increase in Solwezi had brought a number of challenges for the police to cope with.

Msiska said the vehicle donated to police would help to enhance police operations.
“It is common knowledge that the renewed economic operations in Solwezi have also attracted criminals.

This means that police now has to work even harder to contain crime in Solwezi. However, these efforts on the part of the police are sometimes hampered by limited availability of operational vehicles when the police desperately need to cover several areas at the same time,” Msiska said.

And in receiving the vehicle, North Western Province police commanding officer Fabian Katiba appreciated Kansanshi Mine’s continued assistance to police operations in the district.
Katiba said the vehicle would assist police in policing crime by increasing night patrols.

Labels: FIRST QUANTUM MINING, KANSANSHI MINING PLC, POLLUTION

posted by MrK @ 3:26 AM