Mining Mirror September 2018 | Page 30

Mining in focus If the Mining Charter is finalised, employees will be given 8% of the mining rights. is created for communities, workers, and mining companies. “One hopes that the final draft of the Charter will be clear,” Van Wyk says. Difficult but not impossible There is no doubt that addressing issues around community ownership in the South African mining industry is difficult and complicated. However, as complex as it is, it can be done, and major miners have already provided ownership to communities in which they operate. Junior miners are also following suit. South Africa-based prime anthracite producer Zululand Anthracite Colliery (ZAC) has entered into a partnership with the local community in Emakhalathini, KwaZulu-Natal, where the junior mining company operates. The managing director of ZAC, Vuslat Bayoglu, explains that Maweni Mining Consortium holds 26% stake in ZAC. Maweni is a 50/50 joint venture between the community and employees in the area where the mine operates. “Menar bought 74% of ZAC in 2016 from Rio Tinto. ZAC’s previous owners went through the motions and had made a deal with Maweni before Menar became majority shareholder of ZAC,” explains Bayoglu. [28] MINING MIRROR SEPTEMBER 2018 Bayoglu adds the importance of communication between a mine and the community in which it operates for a successful and fruitful partnership, adding that the area where ZAC operates has strong traditional leadership. “We appreciate the value of strong traditional leadership when compared to operations where there is minimal traditional authority.” SHiP is planning to go the 30% benchmark route outlined by the Mining Charter. During a presentation at the Junior Indaba 2018, Hayes explained that through a copper project in the Northern Cape, 70% of the mine will go to the community. “SHiP will create two community companies that will own 70% of two copper ore bodies, which will be capitalised by SHiP and taken to mine-ready stage,” explains Hayes. Defining the community From a mining company point of view, Bayoglu stresses the importance of understanding who the community is. “Identifying the community is critical. This had been done after long consultations with people and the relevant traditional authorities,” Bayoglu explains. According to Van Wyk, in previous drafts of the Mining Charter, the community was defined as “groups of people residing in areas under traditional authority”. Such a definition had various problems, the most obvious being the exclusion of mining communities in non-rural areas. “Traditional authorities have abused the relationship with mines in the past and used funds to enrich themselves rather than community development,” adds Van Wyk. The DMR has since changed the definition of communities to include urban communities and mine-impacted communities as well. Alluding to Section 21 companies and trusts around mining, Van Wyk believes that they have not been effective because communities end up being a minority on the trust and are subsequently excluded when it comes to major decision-making processes. A major consideration to take into account is what will remain of the community once a mine operation reaches the end of its lifespan. Van Wyk alluded to the problem where abandoned mines have not been properly rehabilitated and closed. This often has a direct impact on communities who are left to pick up the pieces. “ZAC has 12 years life of mine left and we are drilling to extend the life,”