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,”