RIO Tinto's Rossing Uranium mine awarded 98 of its workers for their long service at a recent event in Swakopmund.

Sixty-three workers have served the mine for 35 years, while another 35 workers served for 30 years.

The mine's managing director, Chris Salisbury, called the employees "the most valuable assets of our organisation".

"We recognise and celebrate the commitment and dedication of employees who continue to serve as the driving force of the company's performance. It is these colleagues who have laid the foundation upon which our organisation has evolved, and in fact, at times, survived.

They have witnessed the good times the bad times, and perhaps occasionally, the ugly times," said Salisbury.

He said the long-service awards were "a testament of the success of our human resources strategy, specifically employee retention".

He encouraged long-serving employees to mentor the less experienced employees.

The spouses of these employees were also acknowledged for their support.

The Namibian was reliably informed that the employees who were rewarded for 35 years of service each received N$19 500 in cash, while those who have served the company for 30 years received N$16 000.