Excerpt from an article by Huang Fenghui

Mandatory regulations for international cooperation

In order to solve local employment issues, the country requires a ratio of Chinese to local employees of 3:7 in development contracts. The economy in the mining area is primarily based on animal husbandry, with virtually no industry, and the local workforce has low industrial skills. Although they can engage in underground work after training, they mainly perform auxiliary roles. Technical jobs such as drilling, operation, and maintenance are predominantly filled by Chinese employees.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country advocated for "de-Russification," with the native language being Tajik (a minority language), a weakening of Russian education, and a low level of English proficiency, making communication between Chinese and local employees quite difficult. This has, to some extent, suppressed the recruitment of local workers. To meet the legal ratio of Chinese to local employees, it is necessary to reduce the number of Chinese employees. Using a drilling rig is a more feasible method. For the same tasks of drilling, loading explosives, and blasting, the rig (HT81) is staffed with 2 operators (Chinese employees) and 6 auxiliary workers (local employees) per vehicle, completing 4 cycles daily, with a penetration rate of 3m per cycle, resulting in an average penetration of 6m per person per day (for Chinese employees). The hand-held drill is staffed with 2 drillers (Chinese employees) and 1 auxiliary worker (local employee) per shift, completing 1.5 cycles daily (with high labor intensity), with a penetration rate of 2m per cycle, resulting in an average penetration of 1.5m per person per day. Thus, the efficiency of the rig is 4 times that of the hand-held drill. Moreover, the ratio of Chinese to local employees for the rig is 1:3, while for the hand-held drill, it is 2:1.

High cost of domestic employees

The quality of domestic employees meets production needs, but the costs are relatively high. The employing unit is responsible for visas, round-trip tickets, vacation pay (twice a year), and regular wages, which are 10 to 12 times that of local workers. Labor costs account for a significant portion of total costs, and using local workers can greatly reduce production costs while still meeting production needs. Replacing hand-held drilling with a rig and having local workers as auxiliary staff will not only maintain production but also increase the proportion of local employees.

Safety management needs

Although the stability of the rock is relatively good, there are many exposed tunnels, including the main transport tunnel, and all tunneling and drilling operations are conducted under exposed ceilings, which puts significant pressure on ceiling management. If the degree of mechanization in each process is high, it can reduce the number of underground workers or improve the working environment, thereby minimizing the probability of accidents. Additionally, during rig operations, the driver's position is far from the working face and operates under a protective cover, preventing overhead work and contributing to safe production.