African Mining June 2025 | Page 24

• EXCURSION concerns; and by producing competitive products and services of high quality- reliably and responsibly.
“ In 2024 PMC invested R51.7-million in community development. Much of the infrastructure in our town was established and funded by the mine, like the construction of key roads and the refurbishment of schools. We are committed to advancing transformation. In fact, we see corporate citizenry initiatives well entwined with the success and sustainability of our mining business,” says Ledwaba.
Today, PMC has developed a USD410-million underground mine with a production capacity of 30 000 tonnes of ore per day.
stages of development. These projects are firmly grounded in sustainable mining practice with the refurbishing and modernising of otherwise obsolete technology to improve efficiencies. These are driven by transformational leadership within the different portfolios at the mine.
Schoonbee highlights,“ PMC is working hard to extend our LOM to ensure a livelihood for generations to come in our local communities. A future-fit PMC will ensure the survival of our town. It is simple – if we do not mine responsibly and sustainably, PMC will have failed, and Phalaborwa may end up as just another ghost town.”
PMC has earned the support of its employees and host communities through its operational ethos. This is built on structured corporate guidelines that uphold human rights and corporate governance; by driving Zero Harm and providing
a safe and healthy work environment for all employees and contractors; and by practicing sound environmental management to ensure the sustainable biodiversity of the natural environment within which it operates; by acknowledging and respecting stakeholder interests and
PMC is inextricably interwoven with the town of Phalaborwa – its history, its current reality and its future. African Mining invites you to follow this good news mining story, as we delve more deeply into the PMC’ s innovation and sustainability journey in future articles. •
Acknowledgement African Mining, incorporating Mining Mirror thanks the PMC team – and in particular Aidan Schoonbee, Abby Ledwaba and Zani Kutumela – for sharing the company’ s legacy, its intimate relationship with its people and its habitat, and for their fearless drive to innovate for posterity’ s sake. Their passion for mining, community and our beautiful world shines through the headwinds currently pounding the mining industry – the backbone of global economies essential to the survival of the human race.
References: https:// www. britannica. com / place / Phalaborwa 1. https:// southafrica. co. za / phalaborwa-history. html 2. https:// www. palabora. com / 3. The government has through the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act( MPRDA) and the Mining Charter, required all mining companies to empower historically disadvantaged persons( HDSAs) to acquire 26 % ownership equity value to ensure that they attain partial control of the assets.
22 • African Mining • June 2025 www. africanmining. co. za