Managing Director of Marsh
Botswana, Fritzgerald Dube, said the mining industry is faced with
exposures that need to be identified, measured and controlled economically in
order for the mine’s operations to flourish.
Speaking at a mining seminar hosted by Marsh Botswana last week, Dube
explained that while the environment in which they operate in is always
changing and presenting new threats, they are able to understand risk trends
and develop effective programmes. Although a lot of mines have fully fledged risk management departments,
Dube noted that mining is a dynamic and ever evolving specialty and that new
risk that were not previously anticipated would always evolve.
“As such, risk managers need to
be forever considering and devising risk management plans for those risks which
they have never been exposed to before,” he advised. Dube added that risk
managers need to recognise that they play a critical role in ensuring stability
of operations and sustained production in whatever environment that they operate
in.
He underscored the importance of
risk management, stating that it is a critical function in all mines. He urged
top management to commit to instilling a risk management culture throughout the
entire organisation.
“Risk management should not be a
‘nice to have’ but rather a ‘must have’ that carries the full weight and
support of senior management,” he stressed.
However, Dube regretted that the
impact of uncertain events on mine productivity is not limited to loss of
property and revenue alone, but possible death as well. An earlier report that
was issued by a leading reinsurance advisor, Willis Group Holdings, warned
mining companies not to be tempted to cut back on their risk management
spending as they try to deal with rising costs, falling commodity prices and
decreased productivity levels.
The report titled, Mining Risk Review 2011,
identified the main challenges mining companies are facing. They further stated
that the bulk of cost cutting had come from reductions in head office spend,
exploration and business development.
On the same topic, Botswana
Confederation of Commerce and Manpower (BOCCIM) CEO Maria Machailo-Ellis
acknowledged that the mining industry had been experiencing fatal accidents
around the country. She however noted that they had moved ahead with efforts to
prevent recurrence.
Marsh Botswana was established in
1984 and is a subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies, a world leader in
delivering risk and insurance services and solutions. Marsh currently provides
insurance brokerage and risk advisory services to over 70 percent mines across
the globe.
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