Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) has successfully hosted the 2017 Inter-Company First Aid Competition at Konkola Stadium in Chililabombwe which is aimed at enhancing skills to deal with emergency situations in the mines and surrounding communities.

The 12th edition of the competition attracted 20 teams from several companies on the Copperbelt and the Northwestern region. Teams took turns to showcase skills on their preparedness in areas ranging from fracture management to emergency cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

The competition is held under the auspices of the Chamber of Mines Council for First Aid which is responsible for the supervision and coordination of first aid activities in the mining industry. This year’s competition was held under the theme, “Your lives are safe in our hands.”

In a speech read on his behalf by Senior Government Inspector of Mines Aaron Soko, Mines Permanent Secretary Paul Chanda commended the mining industry for its efforts in raising the profile of First Aid within the mining industry.

“The government wishes to commend the efforts that the Zambia Chamber of Mines and mining companies are putting in the development of capacity in emergency preparedness in terms of human resource and facilities,” Mr Soko remarked.
He said hallmark of a safe and healthy work place was to ensure all people embraced the concept of “the brother’s keeper” within the mining industry.

Zambia Chamber of Mines Acting Chief Executive Officer Talent Ng’andwe said that the competition was a key instrument for evaluating the readiness of the mining industry in dealing with emergencies.
“The purpose of holding this competition… is one practical way of taking stock of the industry’s emergency preparedness,” he said.

In his remarks after the competition, KCM Chief Operating Officer (COO) Mark Munroe emphasised the need for first aid training to go beyond legal compliance to becoming standard practice within mining companies.

“We should not merely try and comply with the law. As companies we should train more than the law is requiring us to. We should ensure that more and more of our people know how to do first aid and I think this will benefit our industry and society in general,” he said.

Chibuluma Mine took top honours at this year’s competition, with Lubambe Mine and First Quantum Minerals (FQM) emerging in second and third positions respectively.