- RAM Mining Solutions buys 150-tonne-class excavator to target bulk mining.
- Founder says firm grew from five employees in 2021 to more than 300.
- Company says it has gone four years without a lost-time injury.
ZIMBABWEAN contract miner RAM Mining Solutions has bought a 150-tonne-class excavator as it targets bulk mining contracts, founder Kenneth Mutasa said in an interview.
The machine, a Liebherr R 9150 that Mutasa named Maria after his late aunt, has been in service for about three months.
He said it is the biggest in RAM’s fleet and the biggest owned by a local contractor in Zimbabwe. Liebherr lists the R 9150 as a 150-tonne-class excavator with an operating weight of 130 tonnes.
RAM previously used excavators in the 100-tonne class. Mutasa said Maria could move 600 to 800 bank cubic metres an hour at peak, if matched with suitable haul trucks.
“In bulk mining, capacity creates opportunity,” Mutasa said.
A larger machine can move more material with fewer units, which can cut operator numbers, supervision needs and some operating costs, he said. He said the purchase followed a suggestion from staff at an annual strategy meeting.
RAM has already seen more digging time, better fuel efficiency and higher output, Mutasa said. The company is still testing loading and haulage set-ups, and it is too early to judge how clients view it, he said.
Finding haul trucks to match the excavator is the company’s immediate priority, he said.
From a lost job to more than 300 staff
Mutasa said he registered RAM in 2013. The company grew from five employees in 2021 to more than 300, he said. It works at Eureka Gold Mine, Magaya Gold Mine, Washington Gold Mine and PPC Cement.
He began his career in 2005 at MCC Horlock, a contractor at Zimplats, and later joined Zimplats. He said he lost his job in 2019 while building RAM alongside it.
With COVID-19 under way and no contract, he chose to run the company full time. RAM’s first formal contract, with Fossil Contracting, was to mine and process quarry stone for a Masvingo road project.
Mutasa said he worked with his brother Taku and two drillers, sometimes for 18 to 20 hours a day.
Safety, women and community
RAM says it has gone four years without a lost-time injury or fatality.
Mutasa said production targets should never override safety and that RAM stops work on unsafe tasks, even when a client is pressing for output.
“No production target, contract, or financial reward is worth a human life,” he said.
He said RAM is training women to operate its biggest equipment, including the Liebherr, and wants more women in site management.
The company built a high school at its Shamva PPC operation and is building a children’s home in Nyabira for 100 to 120 children, he said.
Zimbabwe is targeting a $12 billion mining industry by 2030. Mutasa said that goal needs a collective effort from miners, contractors, investors and government, and that he wants RAM to become a household name in the sector.
A longer version of the interview appeared in ZiMining’s monthly magazine and can be downloaded via the link available on the website.
