SPECIAL FEATURE: MINING SECURITY
Mining security Among the most challenging of environments from a security as well as a safety perspective, mines need to adopt highly specialised, multi-faceted systems if they’re going to be effective in their fight against crime, say the experts.
T
he challenge, though, is to identify and implement an effective system that will not only protect the premises and people but also add to the profitability of the mine.
Can this even be done? Yes, says Benedict Weaver, managing director of Zero Foundation Africa, which is regularly employed by mining companies to advise them on everything security related. The major security challenges go far beyond physical and technical solutions, though, he says. Citing a lack of executive support for security along with security management’s misunderstanding of its
securityfocusafrica.com
responsibilities within the organisation, he says the best systems start with the appointment of a security director or chief security officer to the board. In so doing, he explains, the security function will be dictated by a corporate security policy with documented procedures, guidelines and standards. He continues: “The extent of security management’s responsibility is clear: to protect and optimise the company’s four critical assets namely property, people, information and reputation. In this way, the security department provides both a loss control and a revenue assurance function.” “From our experience in providing security management consulting for
mining companies in the Lufilian Arc (which extends from the Zambian Copperbelt around Kitwe to the Katanga region in the DRC) and the Sahel region (which extends from Mauritania to northern Uganda), it is clear that Africa’s mineral resources are becoming more important to a world fuelled by commodity consumption. “Therefore, as the number of financial investments in mining operations and related functions increase throughout the continent, security professionals need to play an influential role in creating the correct environment in which security solutions can be effectively adopted. “Otherwise, any efforts to control losses will incur increased costs of manpower
SECURITY FOCUS AFRICA SEPTEMBER 2019
13
