Meet Bruce Chibemba: from farmer's son to First Quantum Minerals training and development manager

GROWING up as a young boy in the then mining town of Kabwe in the 1980s, Bruce Chibenda had no idea that he would one day hold a key position in one of the world’s biggest mining companies.

Now 42-years-old, Mr Chibenda is the first-ever Zambian to take up the position of Training and Development  Manager at First Quantum Minerals’ multimillion-dollar Sentinel Mine in the Kalumbila District of North-Western Province.

Bruce Chibenda (left): from farmer's son to FQM training manager 

The mine, operated by Kalumbila Minerals Limited, owns some of the biggest state-of-the-art machinery in the world, and it is Mr Chibenda’s job to ensure that the people operating and maintaining the equipment are trained to do so safely, efficiently and effectively.

Chibenda went to Kasanda Malombe Primary School in Kabwe, Central Province, before going to Chililabombwe Secondary School on the Copperbelt.

Despite coming from a family of farmers, Bruce found himself drawn to a career in mining, which was the backbone of the economy of his hometown, and on completing secondary education he went to the Northern Technical College (NORTEC) where he obtained his first advanced technician certificate in heavy equipment repair. He advanced in electrical and electronic engineering under the UK Institute and in electronic operating systems (ECOS) in America, where he was awarded the 2015 Top Performer award among the international students under EPIC Manitowoc America. 

After a stint at Crane Africa Services, a subsidiary of Crane UK, he moved to Zambezi Portland Cement in Ndola as Service Engineer, and then worked as a consultant and contractor for FQM.

In 2012 he was given an opportunity to join FQM as a maintenance trainer and also helped to manage the heavy lifting section for the Sentinel Project, then later worked as a Training Coordinator and Operator Supervisor, before being promoted to Superintendent Mining Operations, and then to his current position as Manager for Training and Development at Kalumbila Minerals Limited.

A beneficiary of FQM’s CEO Training Programme, Mr Chibenda said the training he received played a key role in helping to understand the role that knowledge and the ability to apply the skills acquired plays in the overall productivity and sustainability of the company.

“The CEO Training Programme was a challenging and exciting programme; very difficult to start. However, I was encouraged by my managers to be part of that programme. I learnt a lot of things, and the training programme opened my eyes, and I understood how to optimise production, maintenance and human resources to produce and remain competitive as a mine,” he said.

He explained that skills training plays an important role in operating the mine and at all points of production, adding that without training, it is impossible to have copper delivered to the crushers and to the mills, and that people must know how to operate equipment for them to actually deliver that ore safely and productively.

“For example, you need to train a driller on how to drill a proper hole to push in your explosives; you need to have an excavator operator properly trained to make sure that they load that ore or waste into a dump truck; an operator needs to be trained to drive that dump track and deliver it to where it is required,” he said. 

Mr Chibenda explained that to get the maximum production needed, the company must have properly trained people, who understand how to optimise the operation of equipment.

“Operating equipment is one thing, and optimising the operation of that equipment is another thing. So, in order to get the best out of your equipment, you need to optimise; you need to make sure you operate it safely and properly; and also the maintenance needs to ensure the equipment is reliable and available,” he said.

His department’s role is also to ensure operators and maintainers adhere to all equipment maintenance and operations standards required by government, including regulatory bodies such as the Mines Safety Department, and to make sure the mine produces the way it is supposed to.

Mr Chibenda said good work ethics play a critical role for operators to work in a safe and secure environment, which helps them do their work more effectively.

“I am currently focussing on bringing my work ethic to this new post through good attitude and attention to detail, which I believe is the most important thing in achieving what you want to do. If you have a good attitude, coupled with competence and performance, then you will be able to excel in everything. And that is one of the beliefs that I have as an individual,” he said.

 “What drives me is to see what I have started coming to fruition; my plans coming into place the way I feel they should be; seeing the local operators we have trained become world-class operators, and also seeing operators from local communities who have never seen this state-of-the-art machinery we have on the mine, operate it with so much precision that they are ranked number one in the world in terms of operating a rope shovel,” he said.

“It takes a long time for people to appreciate the training that we do. But the moment they appreciate, it is a completely different ballgame. They become the best among the people operating and maintaining the equipment.”

Now married and a father of three, with one more on the way, Mr Chibenda said family means everything to him. “In my free time I spend a lot of time with my family, but if I am not with them, I would be at the farm because I do a bit of farming, seeing that I come from a farming background,” he said.

This is according to a media release issued by Langmead & Baker recently.

Meet Slim The Hitmaker: Rapper opens up on his journey in music that dates as far back as 2007

MANY might not know this, but Slim The Hitmaker, the man behind his recently released song Can’t Define which features Daev has actually been in the music industry for a long time. Yes, he is not a newbie.

Slim The Hitmaker

Born Aaron Davie Banda, Slim as he is fondly known started recording from as way back as 2007.

In fact, one of his first singles to have been released in that year was Paka Ng’ono which featured Lloyd, the Kabovelo hit maker in 2007. Still little known by then, Slim who later on teamed up with T Sean sometime in 2008 on four songs, Taumona, Sungafikepo, Burning and Mutima Wanga.

But, it was perhaps the club banger Ba Hating’a, a house infused song which featured the likes of X.Y.Z chief executive officer Bobby East, Van Damme hit maker Nez Long and also his elder brother Young Ruff that seemed to have somehow earned him the attention he needed in 2015.

The Weekend Mail caught up with the Lusaka born and bred, but now Livingstone based recording artiste who also doubles as a sales executive who shared his musical journey so far.

“Slim The Hitmaker is a verified hip hop and house music artiste on Spotify. I am also a salesman who became famous for my streetwise rap, house music beats and short radio presenting career,” he says when asked to briefly describe himself.

“After an early life of school and wasting time drinking and playing, I turned to rap. even though I couldn’t do like a professional, all I had at this point was the passion and the belief that I will be able to do it one day,” he says.

He says his first important contact with Zambian hip hop was when he met T-Sean in 2008 and recorded a number of songs together.

“In 2010, I decided to focus on school and a job. When my friend T-Sean blew up in that year, we teamed up again and recorded a song together titled We Made It,” he said.

He also remembers how he was introduced to K-Dash, a very talented and famed producer then, by Nez Long back in 2014.

“I recorded Fighter featuring Nez Long and T-Sean with K-Dash. The song received good feedback and at this point T-Sean had already made his breakthrough in the Zambian music industry. I also recorded a hard-core streetwise song called Ni Yaba Kulu with K-Dash,” he said.

The song which was not so radio friendly was obviously well received on the streets. The following year in 2015, Slim was to record a song that was to somewhat catapult him to the top, Ba Hating’a.

Indeed the song brought him fame and also the exposure.

“The song which also has a video was very well received and I really felt happy about it and the buzz it came with,” he says.

Just when he was about to start enjoying his newly found fame, Slim who in 2016 got a job at a top company was later moved out of Lusaka, forcing him to ice his music career.

“I wanted to develop myself in many aspects. I focused and worked hard on the job, and even started attending entrepreneurial seminars,” he says.

He has no regrets.

He says: “Plugging myself into personal development was the best decision I ever did.”

The sabbatical didn’t last long however. In 2017, Slim released a 12-track mix tape titled Chapters & Verses.

“The mix tape talked about my life and its different stages. It is also a motivational project as it talks about why as a human being, you don’t need to give up in life,” he says.

The mix tape has songs such as Mi Enemies featuring T-sean, Bobby East, Nez Long and Young Ruff, Cassper Nyovest, Hood featuring TeQnikal, Big Dreams, Fighter featuring Nez Long and T-Sean, Zombie, Hello My Ni**ers, Same Ni**er, and Chalo Nima Kwacha among other songs.

In 2019, Slim announced his official comeback into the music industry with his uniquely conceptualised single Can't Define which was produced by award winning DJ Mzenga Man of M Beats Generation and features XYZ Entertainment signee Daev.

“The song talks about a special someone that you love so much that you cannot explain the feeling. In the song, I used Zambian radio station names and their frequencies to try to define the feeling,” he says.

The song has somewhat brought Slim The Hitmaker back on the map because of the flow, delivery and concept of the song so much that the likes of Bobby East, T-Sean, Daev, and even H-Mac shared the song on their social media pages.

Slim who is now working on a hip hop project is soon to release two new singles which he recorded with K-Amy mogul, KB.

“As young people, this is our time to shine and we can only do that by not giving up on our passions. Much as I am comfortable in the job I am, I know I cannot run away from the fact that I love music and that’s why I do it.

“Nonetheless, even as you do that, don’t forget to develop yourself, and also invest in yourself. It’s very important,” he advises young people.

This article was also published in the Zambia Daily Mail newspaper of January 12, 2020. You can find it on this link http://www.daily-mail.co.zm/meet-slim-the-hitmaker/

Farmers taste sweet success with FQM'S beekeeping project, as the mining firm provides over 302 farmers with training and new state-of-the-art beehives

APART from being Zambia’s major pineapple producer and the nation’s mining hub, North-Western Province is poised to return to being the country’s leading honey-producing area, thanks to First Quantum Minerals’ beekeeping project.

The project is providing local beekeepers with training, hives and assistance with accessing markets for their honey.

Trident Foundation beekeepers set their hives.

Honey production is one of several livelihood interventions targeting communities neighbouring FQM’s Kalumbila and Kansanshi mines, helping promote the conservation of trees and discouraging the burning of Miombo woodland. The project is also aimed at improving livelihoods for farmers by providing an additional source of income for their households.

FQM’s Trident Foundation livelihoods supervisor Peter Ngandu says the mining firm has trained over 302 local farmers in new beekeeping techniques, providing them with state-of-the-art beehives, which with proper maintenance can last longer than conventional beehives.

“Through the Trident Foundation, we have been supporting initiatives such as this one, which aim to improve the skills and livelihoods of local farmers. And we have put the farmers in clusters, helping them to experience the new technology being used in beekeeping, such as the Kenyan beehives we are getting from the Copperbelt, which can last to about 20 to 30 years with good maintenance,” explained Mr Ngandu.

The mining firm has been actively working towards sustainable, transparent, and responsible economic and social development, by positively contributing to supply chain development and capacity building for local farmers within the host communities of its mining operations.

Trident Foundation beekeepers set their hives.

Trident Foundation beekeepers set their hives.

“We intend to increase the number of hives depending on the area and on the response from the farmers themselves, and we hope that this will lead to an increase in the yield of the honey as well as their income, which will in turn improve their livelihoods,” said Mr Ngandu.

He said that the beekeeping project was also aimed at improving diets for farmers and providing a source of income for rural households, adding that the sector had the potential to grow due to the abundant forests.

A partnership with social enterprise Nature’s Nectar provides training and hives management, and links the project to requirements for farmers to stop charcoal manufacture and bush burning.

“It is for this reason that we are also helping our farmers with market linkages. Because without a ready market, our livelihoods projects would be of less help. So, like in this case when you talk about honey or beekeeping, we have already connected our farmers to the buyers, which also gives us the confidence to order more hives to make sure that we increase the number of hives per household or per farmer so we meet the demand.

"Because if we only provide the hives ad there is no market for the honey, it defeats the whole purpose. So, we are in contact with other stakeholders that are able to buy the honey from our farmers without any hesitation. So, I am very happy to mention that this is one of the successes that we have seen in beekeeping for the last two years now,” said Mr Ngandu.

In 2015, beekeepers in North-Western Province made a plea to government to speed up the formation of a honey cluster in response to the upswing of beekeeping in the region. And over 2,000 apiculturists were stranded with 45 metric tonnes of honey due to lack of a readily available market for their honey. FQM beekeeping project aims to address that by facilitating a linkage between beekeepers and the market.

Trident Foundation beekeepers set their hives.

As of the end of January 2018 the project produced 3 tonnes of honey and generated the total of K20,706 in four communities. The Ntambu beekeeping committee has produced its own brand of honey which is being sold in Kalumbila. They have also assembled and distributed 1,500 Bee Sweet hives.

FQM, through the Trident Foundation, runs a local business development programme to help remove barriers to small and medium enterprise growth and link local businesses to economic opportunities in the Sentinel Mine, Kalumbila town and beyond, including international market linkages.

FQM has spent well over US$100 million on its sustainability and community development programmes. The overall objective of the mining firm’s socio-economic development initiatives is to create lasting self-reliance for its employees, their families and the immediate communities around its mining operations in Kalumbila and Solwezi Districts of North-Western Province. This is according to a media release issued by Langmead & Baker recently.