One of G4S’s customers is an open pit mining operation located in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The customer had discovered that illegal mining was taking place on their concessions while
these areas were under care and maintenance. The contracted security companies had been colluding with illegal miners and were authorising mining to occur on these sites without the official authorisation of the company.

In addition to the financial loss caused by this illegal mining, our customer also faced a legal issue from a health and safety perspective. Since these illegal miners were not operating using appropriate PPE, there was a risk of injury or fatality. The contracted security company at the time was not fulfilling their responsibility to protect the company’s assets or their liability. The customer went out on a tender to find a professional security provider who would be able to stop the illegal mining activity and keep the site secure. They chose G4S over all other competitors, because of our cost effective offer, reasonable mobilisation plan and mining experience capability.

THE GOALS

The aim of this partnership was to stop the illegal mining activities and protect the assets by applying strict controls for all mining concessions. To achieve this, G4S needed to mobilise a large number of security guards, give them the appropriate training and manage their patrols.

Previous attempts to resolve this issue faced conflict of interest problems, as the incumbent security company was owned by a family member of one of the senior management team members. The solution needed to be mobilised quickly, which is why G4S proved to be an ideal fit. We are financially strong and we are able to mobilise resources within a reasonable amount of time.

THE SOLUTION

The customer was pleased to see that G4S was able to take over the incumbent within 28 days lead time after being awarded the contract. We were on site 48 hours before the specified period began with the full deliverables and we formally started the service provision on May 1st, 2023.

G4S is now providing security guarding, patrol services and K9 support on this site. The 24/7 security guarding service and patrol services are in close contact at all times, with full radio communication. The robust and well-managed team have been successful in applying strict access control rules for the mining concessions.

THE RESULTS

By providing a high quality level of professional security, we were able to protect the mines from being accessed by illegal miners. Since the inception of our contract, all illegal mining activities have stopped.

This means that the customer is no longer experiencing the financial loss of theft, and they are also no longer in a dangerous legal liability position due to unauthorised access. The well-trained and managed team of security guards, patrol services and K9 support ensure a safe and secure work environment for all employees.