Business Reporter
MUTAPA Gold Resources has recorded one million fatality-free shifts at its Freda Rebecca Gold Mine, a milestone the company says underscores improvements in safety culture and operational discipline at the Mashonaland Central province operation.
The achievement, announced this week, covers a 455-day period with no work-related deaths across the mine’s workforce. A congratulatory graphic released by the company featured standard mining PPE — a yellow hard hat bearing the Mutapa Gold Resources logo, safety goggles, gloves and steel-toe boots — with the tagline “Investing in tomorrow”.
Mutapa Gold Resources (Freda Rebecca) chief executive officer Patrick Maseva-Shayawabaya said the record reflects a turnaround in safety performance.
“Since February 2025, all people working at Freda Rebecca, 2 200 including employees of companies contracted to the company, have worked 1,3 million shifts with no death recorded from accidents at work,” he said in a written response to Newsday Weekender.
“However, from October 2022 to February 2025 the mine sadly lost four colleagues from accidents at work.
“So, achieving 455 days or 1,3 million shifts with no fatal accident at work is a major achievement for Mutapa Gold Resources’ Freda Rebecca division.
“Zero Harm is our goal and we are celebrating this milestone to reinforce the good collective and individual actions taken by Freda Rebecca employees that made this possible.”
Like other producers, it has faced pressure to improve safety standards as output ramps up to meet government targets for mineral exports.
In mining, a million fatality-free shifts is a widely used benchmark for sustained safety performance, typically representing millions of man-hours without a fatal incident.
-AMH
