Ntsikitsana Diamond Mine

The health and safety of all Ntsikitsana people, including employees, contractors and partners, is our top priority and we are relentlessly striving for a zero harm workplace

Health & Safety at Ntsikitsana Diamond Mine

Safety is our number one priority and we strive for a ‘zero-harm’ working environment. Our fundamental aim is to ensure each of our employees and contractors returns home safely on a daily basis. In addition to minimizing health and safety risks related to the workplace, we also want to support our people to lead healthy lifestyles, given the immeasurable benefits that employee wellbeing brings to both company and individual.

Our safety strategy and management approach is focused on improving our ability to anticipate and prevent harm to our people. We follow a risk based approach as depicted by our  Risk Management Process, which entails continual hazard identification, risk assessment and instilling awareness into the workplace culture.

A great emphasis is placed on training in this area and we therefore continually strive to raise safety awareness at all levels, as well as encouraging the active participation of employees and their representatives in health and safety issues. We are committed to administering a sound safety management system, focused on the journey of continuous improvement, and are striving toward a resilient workforce. We develop and deliver measurable health and safety standards and targets, aligned with international performance requirements and legislator governing body guidelines with the aim of ensuring that our employees and contractors are equipped and trained to achieve our goal of zero injuries and damages.

Employee Wellness at Ntsikitsana Diamond Mine

The health and wellbeing of our employees is imperative to Ntsikitsana’s continued success. By encouraging a healthy, energized workforce, we are able to ensure higher productivity levels, thereby improving our performance. It also enables us to increase employee motivation and engagement and to cultivate an industrious workplace, whilst minimizing absence.

The promotion of employee wellbeing at Ntsikitsana includes initiatives to increase awareness of stress, mental health issues, lifestyle-related conditions (such as diabetes and hypertension) and to encourage and support a healthy lifestyle amongst our staff.

At Ntsikitsana, all full-time  employees need to belong to a Medical Aid Fund, with the Company making a contribution towards monthly premiums.  In addition to subsidized health care Lesotho’s government provides , we offer employees a comprehensive wellness care programme through local gym memberships which include  lifestyle, psychological, financial, legal, and substance dependence counselling and assistance, and are offered anonymously and free of charge (within certain limits) to employees and their families.

Occupational Illnesses at Ntsikitsana Diamond Mine

The key occupational illnesses that could impact our employees without stringent management and care are noise induced hearing loss (NIHL), respiratory illnesses, and injuries resulting from repetitive activities form the bulk of the occupational illnesses at our operations. Our approach is focused on prevention rather than cure, and is based on rigorous ongoing monitoring of individuals and workplaces, the provision of personal protective equipment (“PPE”) in the case of NIHL and respiratory illnesses, and the implementation of relevant leading practices.

Prevention of occupational illnesses is approached in terms of the overall HSEQ strategy to ensure both safe conditions and inculcate a culture of safe behaviour. Continuous monitoring of employees’ health status, based on customised risk profiles, plays a key role in providing the leading indicators used

Community Health Issues

The key community health issues that impact our operations are HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis

HIV/Aids

HIV/Aids is a significant risk to our workforce as well as to the long-term health of our host communities. We have robust plans to manage this risk at our operations and are guided by the legal requirements in the various jurisdictions where our operations are located.

HIV Voluntary Counselling and Testing (“VCT”) is offered to all employees by medical service providers, as well as during employee wellness drives.

Every year, we have various initiatives to increase awareness and understanding of HIV/AIDS, such as:

  • campaigns at our operations to promote uptake of VCT amongst employees and dependents;
  • provision of condoms; and
  • educational and awareness programmes to dispel myths about the disease and fight discrimination.

We co-operate with trade unions and NGOs to improve the delivery of our HIV/Aids treatment and prevention programmes continued at a number of operations.

Tuberculosis

We provide testing and counselling for tuberculosis at a number of our operations, in most cases through external service providers, due to the established link between HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis.