Platinum mining company Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) this month announced a far-reaching agreement with the community that resides around its lucrative Mogalakwena mine, in Limpopo.

The agreement with the Mapela traditional community involves the establishment of a corporate structure resembling Royal Bafokeng Holdings, the corporate bastion of the Bafokeng community, which has spread its platinum gains into investments in financial services, mining services, infrastructure, industry, oil and gas and a wide range of other investments.

The governance structure would consist of a controlling trust of Mapela community beneficiaries, a wholly owned Bafokeng-like holding company and several operating companies to commercialise investments.

Managed by a board of trustees chaired by traditional leader Kgoshi David Kgabagare Langa, the trust would include one trustee appointed by the traditional council, one appointed by the council of headmen, two independent trustees and two community-elected trustees.

Amplats’ operating company, Rustenburg Platinum Mines recently signed a R175-million agreement with the Mapela community to settle a number of legacy issues and these funds would provide seed capital for creating sustainable, long-term and diversified growth for the community.

Amplats said in a release to Creamer Media’s Mining Weekly that a Royal Bafokeng Holdings-mimicking mineral asset corporatisation process would result in the creation of a number of operating companies that would include joint ventures and partnerships with other parties, to derive commercial benefit for the community.

The first R90-million of the settlement amount had already been paid into a trust account and would be paid over to the community when the corporate governance structure had been established, to be followed by a final payment of R85-million thereafter.

The corporate governance structure was scheduled to be established before the end of June.

Amplats CEO Chris Griffith said the trust represented an investment in the future of the community and Langa said the agreement would ensure the flow of tangible benefits to the community.

Langa said it was time the community reduced its reliance on the mine to create jobs and began creating its own jobs.