Anglo American has joined forces with Exxaro Resources to foster economic and job opportunities outside mining in Limpopo.
One of the biggest risks identified by mining executives is community unrest around their operations as municipalities either buckle under corruption and incompetence or lack the skills to provide services to attract businesses, leading to unemployment and demands for jobs and benefits from mines.
Anglo, through its 80% ownership of Anglo American Platinum, owns the world’s most profitable mine, the Mogalakwena open-cast operation, which is often in the news because of difficult relations with its neighbouring communities.
Coal miner Exxaro joins Anglo, the state-owned Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and World Vision International along with the Limpopo government to push the creation of employment opportunities outside mining and the formation of businesses to sustain communities after mining is completed.
“For us to maximise our impact and get a bigger bang for our buck, there’s distinct advantage to have an economy of scale, aggregating the amount of resources for a larger and wider regional impact,” said Andile Sangqu, the executive head of Anglo American in SA.
The involvement of CSIR in the project would mean a transfer of skills and technology into communities, he said.
For Anglo, the initiative will include communities around Mogalakwena and further afield in the province where Exxaro has large coal mines supplying Eskom and the export markets.
It has taken more than a year of intense negotiations with the Limpopo government, community groups, faith groups and non-governmental organisations to align strategies and processes to come up with what is called Impact Catalyst, said Sangqu.
He was unable to give a figure for the spending needed from the partners to set up opportunities that include farming game, agribusinesses, biofuel businesses and those that supply goods and services to mines in the province.
The partners hope other corporates will join to create these opportunities in Limpopo and other provinces as the initiative is widened over time, said Sangqu.
“At the heart of this, we want to create sustainable communities that can survive after mining in our host areas,” he said.
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