JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – London-based South Africa-founded diversified miner Anglo American on Wednesday reaffirmed its commitment to investment in South Africa in a meeting in the UK with President Jacob Zuma, who was on a State visit there.

Anglo CE Cynthia Carroll updated the President on the group's strategy and plans, the corporation said.

"I emphasised to President Zuma our continued commitment to investment, transformation and job creation in South Africa and to working closely and constructively with government," Carroll said.

Its CE, Anglo added in a media release, had highlighted the corporation becoming the first mining company to have a project accepted by the global Business Call to Action (BCtA) initiative, which challenges companies to tackle poverty, promote economic growth in developing countries and to contribute towards the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of the United Nations (UN) through the application of their expertise, technology and innovation.

With only five years left to meet the 2015 MDG deadline, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on world leaders to attend a September 20 to September 22 New York summit to boost MDG progress.

Anglo and its associates mine platinum, diamonds, copper, iron-ore, coal and nickel in Africa, South America, Australia and Asia.

The BCtA-accepted Anglo project is a spin-off from its Zimele initiative and involves the establishment of 12 enterprise development hubs in high-unemployment areas in South Africa, a venture which is expected to create 25 000 new jobs in up to 1 500 new businesses in the next seven years.

Small business start-up funds will target the most vulnerable segments of society, in addition to providing mentoring and access to supply chain opportunities.

Anglo announced earlier this year that it would also seek to increase its enterprise development activities in Chile and Brazil in future.

In an update, Anglo said that its copper mining operations of Los Bronces, El Soldado and Mantoverde in earthquake-hit Chile had been able to resume production on Sunday after power was returned.

Lost copper production during the stoppage was limited to less than 1 500 t.

Damage has, however, prevented operations from resuming at Anglo's Scaw Metals plant near Concepcion, which is being sold off.

Production will be increased at other Scaw facilities - including South Africa's - in order to meet demand.

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