ZAC restart brings joy to colleagues

Millwright Robert Craig says ZAC is in his blood! Robert has been at ZAC for over 23 years. “We all look out for one another here at ZAC, I’ve learnt a fortune about my colleagues’ cultures over the years. We really are a family.”

He started his career at ZAC as an artisan working underground in the shafts but in the past 8 years has been based at the workshop and around the mine, where you will find him installing, dismantling, repairing, reassembling, and moving machinery about. He also assists the community with projects that require his artisanal expertise. Robert has been part of the care and maintenance team, who returned to the mine in May 2020. “It is amazing to be back and I’m very hopeful for a successful and easy restart of the mine and the reuniting of the ZAC family,” he enthuses.

Mahlabathini-local, Process Administrator Sinothile Mkhize has been working at ZAC since 2016. Sinothile returned to ZAC in May 2020 as part of the care and maintenance team for the mine.

She says that it has been a difficult year with the closure of the mine and the loss of colleagues due to the need to retrench a number of staff members to preserve the operation, while it has been under care and maintenance.

In her position Sinothile is responsible for compiling reports on how much has been mined, processed and sold. She has already noticed improvement in sales volumes as customer demand gradually picks up.

“We are all hoping for a much better year where market prices improve significantly, paving the way for a strong restart at ZAC.

“What I like about ZAC is that it takes care of the community. We have a local community Recruitment Committee that assist ZAC in recruiting locals, whenever possible, to work at the mine. For ZAC, community always comes first,” she highlights. Sinothile points out that even the coal haulage companies that transport the coal from the plant to the siding are locals.

“I enjoy working for ZAC because it does its most to support locals by recruiting locals and using local businesses. It gives community members the opportunity to benefit from the mine directly. 2020 was an extremely challenging year for everyone, but we’ve all learnt important lessons and God willing this will put us in good stead for the future,” Sinothile remarks.