More than 2,000 Zambians are expected to be directly employed at the First Quantum Mine (FQM)’s Sentinel Mine at the Trident Project in North-Western province when in full operational.
An additional of 600 more people will also be employed at FQM’s planned US$ 400 million (KR 200 billion) smelter to be built in Solwezi.
FQM has since advanced plans to develop the second of the three potential mines at its large-scale mining project at a cost of US $275 million (about K1.3 trillion or KR 1.3 billion)
Trident Resources Optimisation manager John Gladston said in a statement yesterday that the potential maximum copper output in tonnes per year from the proposed Sentinel Mine at Trident was 300,000.
“The significance at the single largest investment in Zambia by FQM is best captured in the potential to create wealth and job creation through encouraging private sector growth,” Mr Gladston said.
He said the enterprise nickel project was being designed to produce an average of 38,000 tonnes of nickel in concentrate per annum with the scope to increase to 60,000 tonnes if the nickel market conditions would allow.
Mr Gladston said the enterprise development required a capital investment of US$275 million which lifted the total approved capital estimate for Trident Project to US$2.0 billion (about KR 10 billion).
“Enterprise is part of the Trident projects which includes the sentinel copper deposit that is currently under development.
“As enterprise is located just 12 kilometres north of Sentinel, it is expected that its development cost will benefit by sharing infrastructure a unique and significant synergy that will make it a low cost operation,” he said
The enterprise main zone is a series of relatively shallow dipping mineralised bodies covering an area of 1000 metres by 500 metres and ranging in thickness from a few metres to over 80 metres.
Mr Gladston said that an intensive resource definition drill programme was completed during 2012.
In April 2011, Government granted FQM large-scale mining licences for the development of the Trident Project that had three potential mines which include Sentinel which was currently under development, enterprise and intrepid.
The Licence gave FQM the exclusive rights to carry out mining operations on the full area of interests at Trident, situated 150 kilometres (Kms) west of Solwezi for a period of 25 years.
“The enterprise nickel project is being designed with the capacity to treat ore at a rate of 4.0 Mtpa at a processing facility that will be constructed as an integral part of the Sentinel copper mine,” Mr Galdston said
He said the recent drilling had been focused on a nearby sateliite zone known as Enterprise Southwest while some 359 diamond core holes for over 116,000 metres had been drilled as part of the programme.
Every day these rosy picturers are being painted about how wealth and jobs are being created but there is nothing to prove that on the ground.everyday people are being relegated from drinking mosi and castle to shake shake and kachasu.these jobs are just on paper and these mining companies don’t even care about interests of zambian workers take for instance these indians at vendatta,do they care about and ordinary zambia? Nooo one thought with the coming of the man of action in state house things will change instead they are even getting worse.
These jobs are mostly for foreigners. Zambians are relegated to casual labourers. PF at work
I have not met one mining company who really gives a hoot about the environment let alone their workers. Why are you (Zambia) in such a hurry to give away your resources? What are you going to do when there is just a big hole in the ground and the mining companies have moved to richer grounds. This need for so called developement is not doing 99% of the citizens of Zambia any good. Richer counties than Zambia are finding that out. People of the so called developed world are realising that there is more to life than making the rich richer! Make your villages a place to live not a place to leave!
man of action (mr. presido) please help us poor zambians. we are still being exploited by your so called investors. you promised that you will look into our pride once in office, its one year down the line and we have not seen any change in our lives. whats has happened to the man of action we knew and voted for enmass? please move in and liberate us from these shackles of poverty perpetrated by your investors throughout zambia.
Mr Garry,
well said, but what you have said will never happen. Natural Resources are there to sustain human life and therefore will never be completely be depleted as long as mankind exists. Until the second coming of my Jesus, these resources will be available
You should have watched “Why Poverty” on BBC a few weeks ago to know how these mining companies are making a killing in Zambia and how they are contaminating the environment in Zambia. In the programme two Zambian managers were made to look very stupid in their defence of the companies in the face of overwhelming data to the contrary. So Zambians should not be too excited to be oblivious to the dangers and exploitattive tendencies of the mining companies.
I pray those jobs go to zambians
when is it going to be recruited.
What people don’t know is that FQM is signing 10 year developmental agreements with the gov’t behind the scenes to keep the tax as it is in return for this so called investments.
Wake up!!
Zambian managers directors and top black people in management. are the ones who have made us to suffer to the of these foreigners because they are corrupted in their minds when they are given incentives look at kcm it’s a Zambian man who has made Indians to behave that way
I agree with #1,2 and 9. there are so many foreigners coming in our country to take up these jobs. Most of them are not even qualified. I supported PF and man of action with a view that this situation would change but nothing is being done. IMMIGRATTION HAS EVEN BECOME MORE CORRUPT IN THE MANNER THEY GIVE WORK PERMITS
This is the most important factor you want to consider. Anything that deals with one’s health has to be accurate. It’s the only way to go. You don’t want to go rushing in to the ER (Emergency room) just because your machine tells you got super high blood pressure. You don’t want that kind of problems and worries.
Kindlu want see the response from my application which I sent to you
Zambian. Are happy whan indin are going & me aiso I’m happy.
What about those who where interviewed as operators on traing for sentnel project.is there any chances of them getting employed?
APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT AS CASHIER/ACCOUNTS CLERK/ACCOUNTS ASSISTANT/ASSISTANT ACCOUNTANT
This may be a long short but I am a student at the copperbelt university and studying environmental engineering in my fourth year. It’s hard to find places to do industrial attachments here in Zambia. I have never seen the FQM company show up to give any motivation talks or offer guidance on the employment opportunities out there. I do worry about the issue of employment as a graduate to be and would like to see more mining companies involved in issues concerning universities especially the copperbelt university.