Barrick Gold targeting local suppliers, skills with Zambian expansion project
NYSE- and TSX-listed Barrick Gold’s Business Accelerator Programme is seeking 150 small and medium-sized enterprises to support the upcoming Superpit expansion at its Lumwana copper mine, in Zambia.
The Lumwana expansion is expected to double the mine’s current copper production to a life-of-mine average of 240 000 t/y with an additional 2 500 construction workers to be employed over the construction period through to 2028, the company states.
It is also expected to create a further 550 permanent roles.
To meet these demands, Lumwana is extending its Technical Education, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training Authority-accredited training centre to equip local workers with critical skills.
Currently, 99% of Lumwana’s employees are Zambian nationals, the company points out.
“We are transforming the surrounding Kalumbila District into a mining-powered economic hub that will endure beyond Lumwana’s expanded life-of-mine,” Barrick president and CEO Mark Bristow posited, speaking from Lumwana.
Plans include new employee housing in the Manyama town, an industrial supplier park and an airport which is expected to be operational by the end of the year.
The master plan, developed in collaboration with local authorities, aligns with Zambia’s integrated development strategy.
Lumwana’s copper production for 2024 was within guidance, supported by investments in operator training and an upgraded ultra-class fleet.
Barrick says it is actively supporting Zambia’s ambition to increase the country’s copper output to three-million tonnes by 2031, both through its Lumwana expansion, and by securing further exploration licences in the Northern province.
Additionally, the company says it is supporting Zambia’s power challenges in collaboration with State-owned power company Zesco.
Since September 2024, Lumwana’s cogeneration initiatives have reduced its reliance on the grid, helping to alleviate the supply-demand gap, the company avers.
A joint working group, led by Barrick, is now focused on upgrading the northwestern power corridor.
Comments
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Showroom
ESAB South Arica, the leading supplier of high-end welding and cutting products to the Southern African industrial market is based in...
VISIT SHOWROOM
ENVASS is a customer and solutions-driven environmental consultancy with established divisions, serviced by highly qualified and experienced...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
