Ryder Gabathuse
27 November 2008
Francistown — At least 133 employees of the Botswana Metal Refinery (BMR), a subsidiary of the Tati Nickel Mine, will lose their jobs on December 31 when the 'suspended' Activox project closes for good.
An anxious employee of BMR based at the Activox Demonstration Plant at the Tati Nickel Mine says management briefed them early this week about their 'inevitable' job losses. Says the man, who prefers anonymity: "We have been informed that this decision was taken following the fall in metal prices and the global financial crisis that is currently wreaking havoc."
The closure of BMR comes five months after construction of the P5 billion Activox plant was "suspended". Tati Nickel Mine is one of the non-Russian assets of Norilsk Nickel International.
The Russian mining giant, which is the world's largest nickel miner, recently warned of the possibility of production cuts at its non-Russian assets.
Norilsk holds 85 percent shares in Tati Nickel Mine while the Botswana government owns 15 percent.
The anonymous employee further told Mmegi: "We have received letters informing us about the impending permanent closure of BMR, the company which was building the Activox Refinery construction before it was halted last June following a review of the project's economics."
He says the employees were also told that "there is nothing that can be done about the situation. But, as part of responding to the global crisis, we have to close BMR."
The affected employees include laboratory technicians, plant operators and electricians many of whom were recruited from the government and other mines. A few left early when they saw the proverbial writing on the wall.
Tati Nickel Mine's Manager responsible for Organisational Capability, Peter Meswele, has confirmed that a consultation process is underway: "We have started a consultative process with the concerned BMR workers, trade unions and other stakeholders."
He too believes the closure of BMR is "inevitable". Although he cannot say exactly how many Batswana and foreigners are currently employed by BMR, reports reaching Mmegi indicate they will be affected in equal measure.
"We were compelled by economic factors," he says. "The same problems that our counterparts are experiencing globally have pushed us into a tight corner."
The fact that Tati Nickel sells its products on the international market means it is subject to the same market downturn that has afflicted other mining companies in the world, Meswele points out.
"The number of BMR staff was higher in the beginning before about 30 of them were absorbed by Tati Nickel Mine," he says. "Times are tough because metal prices have reached rock bottom. No-one should even think that we can resuscitate the massive Activox Refinery project as it was closed due to the economics."
The Activox Refinery would have been a patented hydro-metallurgical process used to recover nickel and copper metal from sulphide concentrates. The Tati mine has been operating an Activox Demonstration Plant since 2004 to prove the technology. Nearly 1 000 workers lost their jobs when construction of the Activox plant was 'suspended' last June.
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