Mining explosives provider Beifang Mining Technology Services, a subsidiary of the Chinese arms conglomerate Norinco, says it has paid N$231.8 million in taxes since its existence in 2013.
The company’s Chief Executive Officer Fisher Yu said Beifang now boasts an asset investment of N$2.24 billion in Namibia.
He revealed this at a Memorandum of Understanding signing with the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) in which the two institutions agreed on a graduate integrated learning programme.
“About 30% of our workforce consists of graduates from NUST, which already shows the collaboration. Going forward we found it fit to foster this relationship so that we can be training NUST students as interns or through our graduate integrated learning programme,” Yu said.
Beifang, which started operations in Namibia in 2013 with a staff complement of 60, now boasts a workforce of 654, of which 93% are local, and the remaining 7% comprise Chinese nations.
“We would like to cultivate a culture in which we assist students, even beyond the graduate training programme, to offer bursaries and scholarships to new and existing employees. We believe that doing so helps us grow bigger as we shall have a local and skilled workforce,” stated Yu.
In addition, he said the aim is to transfer enough skills to the locals so that they may be able to run their mines in the future.
“We are aware that mining is a capital-intensive industry, and also requires high-end machinery and equipment, of which many Namibians do not possess. Therefore, through collaboration and working together, we shall see a workforce fully fledged by Namibians as we grow together.”
He also said the mining company is paying about market prices because it believes that a well remunerated workforce is productive.
Meanwhile, Mallikarjun Pillalamarry, the head of Civil, Mining, and Process Engineering, said the MoU is a relief as the University has for years struggled to get placement of their students for job training.
“We have been visiting many Mines in the past to have a placement for our students but they have been unresponsive, hence we appreciate Beifang for having positively responded. In engineering, it’s important to have students go into the field because you can only do so much in the lab, but the real work is out there, which they need to get the necessary experience,” he said.
Beifang operates at both Husab and Rössing Uranium Mine by providing blasting services.
The Chinese mining contractor will however assume charge for 13 years in extracting uranium from Rössing, one of the longest-running open pit uranium mines in the world.-miningandenergy.com.na
