SWAKOP URANIUM
MORE THAN MINING
SWAKOP URANIUM
SWAKOP URANIUM HAS ACHIEVED SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS DURING THE CHALLENGING YEAR OF 2020 AND HAS MANAGED TO STAY ON TRACK EVEN UNDER RESTRICTED CONDITIONS.
MORE THAN
MINING PROJECT MANAGED BY: JOHN HOLLIMAN
2 | BUSINESS FOCUS MAGAZINE
BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM
SWAKOP URANIUM
Swakop Uranium is a registered company in Namibia that owns the Husab mine. The majority stake (90%) is owned by Taurus Minerals Limited, jointly owned by China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) and China Africa Development Fund (CAD) while the remaining 10% is held by the Namibian state-owned Epangelo Mining Company.
BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM
T
he Husab mine, located near Swakopmund on the west coast of Namibia, is one of the largest uranium mines and processing plants in the world. The company’s mission is to produce uranium efficiently and responsibly. The company’s vision is to be a world-class Namibian uranium mining company. The mine is on a growth trajectory, having drummed its first uranium in 2016, and then ramping up production over 2018 and 2019, overcoming numerous commissioning and technical issues to get the operation up and running. Most of the product is supplied to China and up to 20% is marketed internationally by CGN Global Uranium Ltd, incorporated in the UK. The company is currently targeting 10 million tonnes per year of ore in the short term, increasing to 15 million tonnes over the next three years. 2020 brought with it new challenges but CEO Cai Yusheng acknowledged that
the company has made significant progress despite the restrictive conditions. “We have achieved a lot in the last 12 months, even though Covid-19 has hit the company hard,” he admits. “In line with the requirements, we had to limit the capacity of our operations to 30% and significantly reduce manpower. For such a severe environment, our achievements are all the more impressive.” He pointed out that despite the circumstances, Swakop Uranium achieved a new monthly throughput record with only 60% of the workforce and the company managed to keep to its plan, implementing new measures and procedures. “This was made possible by improving the productivity and efficiency of the mining equipment and by much better inventory management. Considerable improvement was also achieved at the human level, and facing this huge challenge together, our team got stronger, showing great solidarity and determination.”
BUSINESS FOCUS MAGAZINE | 3
a leading, dynamic, innovative, and task-oriented mining services company in Africa.
BREVS: Basil Read & EVS Company 7 Feld Street, Windhoek, Namibia
T: +264 (61) 415 700
E: info@brevs.com
BREVS – BASIL READ AND EVS COMPANY
SWAKOP URANIUM
VISION To be a leading, dynamic, innovative, & task-oriented mining services company in Africa. MISSION To provide efficient and cost-effective mining services, whilst upholding the highest standard of safety, quality and environment management. OUR VALUES SAFETY: Safely, we start and finish together • Keep each employee safe & healthy • Provide safe, healthy & effective work environment • Protect employees at all cost • Ensure zero fatalities.
Cai Yusheng, CEO, Swakop Uranium.
INTEGRITY: We drive excellence through ethical behaviour • Honest and trustworthy • Strong moral principles • Do business ethically • Stand up for what is right. COMPASSION: People matter because we care • Be kind and empathetic • Respect and understand others • Authentic care for employees. DELIVERY: We take ownership and consistently exceed expectations • Deliver a quality product or service on time • Be responsible and take ownership • High customer satisfaction. UNITY: We work together and embrace diversity to achieve greatness • Work together as one team • Aim to achieve the same goals • Treat each other like family. COMMITMENT: With determination & focus we passionately strive towards excellence • Loyal to BREVS • Dedicated and hard working • Strive for excellence (do your best or put it to rest) • Initiate continuous improvement. OWNERSHIP AND GOVERNANCE OWNERSHIP: BREVS Mining Contractors is a Namibian contracting company, which constitute of: 1. Basil Read Mining Namibia (Pty) Ltd 2. EVS Mining Contractors (Pty) Ltd GOVERNANCE: EVS Mining Contractors values good corporate governance and is committed to ensuring compliance with applicable regulations and corporate governance best practice. We continuously improve our corporate governance processes to ensure compliance at all times. The board of BREVS Mining Contractors is made up of the following directors: Ismail Moosa Barnabas Uugwanga Anton Cilliers Eliphas Hawala SERVICES The scope is, and not limited to the following areas: • Open Pit Mining • Open Cast Mining • Drilling and Blasting • Material handling • In-pit water management • Bulk earthmoving • Mining Tailings Storage Facilities (TFS) Construction & Maintenance • Mine Infrastructure Development • Rehabilitation • Mine Planning • Due Diligence CURRENT PROJECTS AS BREVS 1. SWAKOP URANIUM HUSAB SITE (STARTING JULY 2020) • Drilling, Loading and Hauling • 440,000 BCMs per Month 2. QKR NAVACHAB GOLD MINE (STARTING AUGUST 2020) • Plant (Trucks) and Operators • Loading and Hauling operations CONTACT: Email: info@brevs.com
Tel: +264 (61) 415 700
BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM
CLEAR COMMUNICATION
From the beginning, fostering cross-cultural collaboration was a major task. “We focused hard on improving the work ethics and discipline and optimizing local practices. Cultural differences are inevitable and bridging them will pave the way forward,” Mr Cai points out, admitting that discipline and safety were the key issues at the beginning but the company has come a long way by introducing specific practices and training schemes.
“WE FOCUSED HARD ON IMPROVING THE WORK ETHICS, DISCIPLINE & OPTIMIZING LOCAL PRACTICES. CULTURAL DIFFERENCES ARE INEVITABLE AND BRIDGING THEM WILL PAVE THE WAY FORWARD.” The vast majority of Swakop’s 1,700 employees are Namibians. To ensure a pool of talent that will keep the mine running over its 20+ year lifespan, Swakop Uranium has established a graduate and skills training
BUSINESS FOCUS MAGAZINE | 5
SWAKOP URANIUM
programme to feed the company’s leadership pipeline. The strategy is to focus on recruiting the best available candidates while building internal capacity to alleviate skill-shortage challenges in the future. “We spent a lot of effort on cultivating discipline and establishing a company culture focused on safety and performance, based on understanding, compassion and respecting cultural differences. Virtual social tools helped a lot in this process.” He explains that DingTalk, a corporate communication tool, was provided to all employees from top to bottom, so now the CEO can communicate with thousands of employees through live broadcasts, sharing messages and important
6 | BUSINESS FOCUS MAGAZINE
information on a regular basis. “There is no need to arrange a meeting room now or to worry that important messages will not reach everyone. I can talk to all my employees directly now, and this has been a major improvement.”
BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION
Over the three years that Cai Yusheng has run the Husab Mine, he has been working hard on business transformation, one of the tasks he was given by the majority shareholder when he was sent to Namibia in mid2017. “The goal was to transform the whole organisation from project-oriented to operationoriented. It has been quite a challenge. I had to introduce concepts such as planning procedures, work safety rules
BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM
SWAKOP URANIUM
and performance management systems. The transformation is now nearly complete – we have rolled out a new company culture, a process that took two years.” Mr Cai also introduced events such as an annual safety day to raise awareness of safety and learn from past mistakes, and a CEO open day once a month, enabling staff to come to his office and speak about anything they feel is important. “The transformation is visible also on this level. At the beginning people mostly raised the issue of salaries, now they come up with ideas relating to performance-related issues.”
BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM
Collaboration with local communities has been just as important as promoting internal teamwork. The company provides donations to various causes and organises educational workshops and training to raise awareness of environmental protection as well as to improve the level of local skills. “Teaching skills is better than giving out money,” remarks Mr Cai, paraphrasing a Chinese proverb. “We continue to face some short- and long-term difficulties in pushing the facility to meet production and mining volumes. From a longer perspective, we have been working with the
Namibian government to enhance local infrastructure, which, at the moment, is insufficient to support such a huge mining operation. Internally, further enhancement of the company culture is an ongoing task.” In concluding, Mr Cai Yusheng insists that his work in Namibia has been a rewarding experience. “When working in a foreign country, it is important to have empathy for the local culture and customs. We need to be able to look at things from the point of view of our partners. Then we can all achieve a result that is beneficial for all. This is the way we are working in Swakop Uranium.”
BUSINESS FOCUS MAGAZINE | 7
SWAKOP URANIUM
WWW.SWAKOPURANIUM.COM