RBM to review restart of Zulti South mine
This comes as the mining giant resumed operations following a three week shutdown owing to shooting incidents which threatened the lives of employees
RIO Tinto says it will review the restart of the R6,5-billion Zulti South expansion project after the normalisation of operations at Richards Bay Minerals (RBM).
This comes as the mining giant resumed operations following a three week shutdown owing to shooting incidents which threatened the lives of employees.
RBM, a subsidiary of Rio Tinto, said mining operations are currently being phased in with regular production expected in early 2020.
The company said it is contacting customers who were ‘advised of a force majeure in their supply that this has now been lifted.’
Chief executive for Energy and Minerals, Bold Baatar commended various stakeholders for paving the way for a stable environment necessary for RBM to resume operations.
‘The safety and security of our people is always our first priority and we are pleased that we will now be able to get back to work creating value for our people, our communities, South Africa and RBM’s shareholders.
‘I would like to thank the Government of South Africa and the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal for their support and assistance in getting us to a position where we can restart operations at RBM.
‘I would also acknowledge the work of community leaders and the police over the previous few weeks,’ Baatar said.
KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala said during a media briefing recently that they would continue assisting the company in ensuring the safety of employees and engaging relevant stakeholders to return stability to the community.
‘We have made an arrangement that for now, we will be escorting the workers through police, during the morning and evening shifts.
‘Then as we normalise the situation we will continue to assess and ensure they get back to full operation,’ Zikalala said.
The shutdown has however, affected production at the mine with titanium dioxide slag expected to be at the bottom end of 2019 guidance of between 1.2 and 1.4 million tonnes.
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