First Kolomela houses handed over
25 February, 2011
The first of the 718 houses being built for Kumba Iron Ore employees working at the company's new Kolomela mine in Postmasburg is ready for occupation. Twelve completed houses have been handed over to the mine last week, with the rest to follow by June next year.
The mine will create more than 800 permanent jobs and will begin producing iron ore for the export market next year. It will ramp up to full production of 9 million tonnes per annum by 2013.
The R8.5 billion project to develop the new mine is more than 80 per cent complete. The five administration buildings at the mining site south of the town have also been completed recently. These modern buildings have a combined floor space of more than 5,000 square meters.
At the handover of the new buildings, general manager Aart van den Brink said that Kumba has set high standards for the houses and the administration buildings and has moved away from the conventional designs associated with mining infrastructure.
"The aim is to create conducive working environments and improved quality of living conditions for our employees. This will contribute toward creating a culture of pride, motivating employees at the mine to deliver excellence while enjoying what they do."
Project manager Pieter Rossouw joined him in cutting the ribbon marking the handover of the administration buildings. This was a significant milestone in the development of the mine, he said. "We are proud of the fact that the project is on schedule and within budget and we intend keeping it that way."