Eighteen employees working at Newcrest Lihir’s fixed plant maintenance rubber and belts department were recently awarded certificates.
The certificates mark the completion of Level 1 of the three part belt splicing training program that these employees have been undergoing for the past eight months.
It was a proud moment for the belt splicing and fixed plant maintenance (FPM) teams who have been enthusiastic and focused on upgrading their skills and knowledge in this specialised area of mining work.
Conveyor belts are continuous lengths of belts that travel around head and tail pulleys. They take the ore from the crushers to the mills for grinding and processing.
As they vary in length, the belt material is brought to site in rolls then belt sections are joined together to get the desired lengths needed on the pulleys.
The process of joining the belt materials together is called splicing.
A lot of preparation goes into combining the layers of belt to ensure that they are strong and durable in transporting the ore from various crushers and stockpiles to the mills.
FPM training coordinator, Michael Garrett, further explained that not only was this the beginning of formal recognition of the belt splicing trade, but it would also serve as a guideline in assessing employees’ qualifications.
“Level 1 is the foundation unit and the start of formal recognition of the skill set of the current team. Now that it’s completed, Level 2 & 3 are the more technical components which we will use as a guideline to assess employment levels in recognition of an achieved skill set,” he said.
Meanwhile, rubber & belts coordinator, Darren Perkins, applauded trainers John Malala, Michael Garrett, Sitiveni Nalatu and Dallas Morgan for their enormous effort to make the program become a reality.
“I am extremely proud of the team effort to date. I can only see a positive way forward for new employees and trainees.
“We envisage a nationally recognised accredited program with close assistance from the National Apprenticeship and Trades Training Board (NATTB), which requires us to show an established solid training program with evidence and achievements from the courses conducted,” he said.
From this training program, ten local Lihirians and one employee from Kavieng are on their way to becoming specialists in belt splicing.
Trainings such as this are vital to the business operations in upskilling and empowering employees to be better in their roles, and in bringing Newcrest Lihir to perform at its full potential.
(Lihir’s belt splicing team and fixed plant maintenance trainers)