Covid-19 Response - Kamoa Copper S.A.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Kamoa Copper has implemented measures to safeguard its people and mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on its mine development operations.

Since the start of the pandemic, COVID-19 prevention and treatment initiatives have been successfully maintained at Kamoa, with focus on personnel staying vigilant about COVID safety protocols and managing the risks associated with COVID-19.

As the pandemic evolves, the medical team at Kamoa Copper continues to review and update our risk mitigation protocols, while ensuring that new medical advances are investigated and applied to protect the health and safety of the workforce and community members.

Large-scale testing, combined with focused preventative measures, ensured that positive cases were quickly identified, isolated, and treated, with cross contamination kept to a minimum. Maintaining this high standard of risk management remains a daily focus, to prevent future cases.

While Kamoa Copper has successfully focused on prevention, preparation, and mitigation in managing the risks associated with COVID-19, the company has also partnered with the DRC government, UNICEF, and other stakeholders to administer COVID-19 vaccinations.

Kamoa is one of 15 sites in the Lualaba Province where COVID-19 vaccination programmes are being rolled-out in an effort to curb the spread of the virus.

At the end of May 2021, Kamoa Copper secured an initial supply of 1,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine for Kamoa Copper’s employees, contractors and DRC residents who live in the mine’s host communities.

The booster supply of 1,000 doses arrived shortly after in June and were administered 8 to 12 weeks after the first injection. A certificate of vaccination is then issued to those who have received two doses.

Kamoa Hospital

Kamoa Copper’s proudest moment with regards to health has been the completion of the first phase of its hospital. The Kamoa Hospital is being used during COVID-19 as an intensive care unit (ICU) and is geared to treat any COVID‑19 case, including intubation and ventilation for prolonged periods of recovery.

The hospital features a 10-bed ICU, each bed equipped with a ventilator, and 20 high-care units and includes the additional services required to provide a holistic healthcare service, allowing the project to move from no possible care within a 400 km radius, to having an onsite ICU capable of treating even the most severe cases.

Meanwhile, at the Kakula Mine, a Trauma Surgery Unit is able to handle critical patients that need to be stabilised before being transferred to the Kamoa Hospital for further treatment or surgery.