Thursday, February 13, 2025

Fluor wraps up work at Jwaneng Cut 8 Project

Three years after being awarded a contract to manage the Cut 8 Project on behalf of Debswana Jwaneng Mine, Fluor recently hosted a function to mark the completion and handover of the project to the Mine.

At a function at the mining town, various speakers highlighted the different milestones achieved by the project, particularly on the safety front.

Debswana Managing Director, Jim Gowans, lauded all stakeholders “for the good work done on the Cut 8 Project. This includes project execution but also sustainability or legacy initiatives”.

Gowans also stated that the execution of a project on a brownfield site (in existing operations) is a major challenge to any project team and they should be commended for achieving this with a very good safety record and with limited production interference.

Jwaneng Mine General Manager, Balisi Bonyongo, explained that Debswana engaged Fluor because the company realised that “the Cut 8 Project required a new strategy towards project execution largely due to the size and value of these projects. Debswana and Fluor engaged experienced project directors and senior project managers to manage the Cut-8 Project.”

He also spoke of the legacy projects that Fluor and their managed contractors embarked on.

“The Cut-8 project team did not only leave Jwaneng with world class facilities, but also contributed to sustainability through legacy initiatives which included sponsoring training of Government officials in specialised skills in South Africa, upgrading Government school facilities in Jwaneng and surrounding villages, providing computer facilities to the town library, upgrading the hospital, launching the chef competition and making improvements at the Mpule Kwelagobe Children’s Centre, to mention a few,” he said.

Executive General Manager Europe & Asia Pacific, Fluor Mining & Metals, Matthew Cobbett praised Fluor and Jwaneng Mine for working hand-in-hand in introducing innovative ways to manage employees’ well-being.

“Safety in execution is paramount and so I would like to commend Fluor and Jwaneng Mine for pulling together to execute with excellence.”

The Cut 8 Project began mid-2009 with early works in preparation for the construction which would commence towards the end of that year. Early construction prepared the Northern part of the pit for Cut-8 Phase One mining to start in January 2010.

It was followed by three years of construction and demolition to progressively make more areas of the pit accessible for Cut-8 mining. Full access to the pit was achieved during 2011, and mining commenced on the central section in October 2011.

Construction was completed by mid-2012. To date more than 60-million tons of waste has been removed. Cut-8 mining is now at full operation and aims to achieve 110 million tons per year from 2013 onwards.

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