MOOINOOI (miningweekly.com) – Platinum miner Lonmin will spend R163.8-million on community projects between 2012 and 2014, which will be a key enabler to grow its production, Lonmin executive manager for external affairs Abey Kgotle told Mining Weekly Online on Monday.

The company, which spent R156-million on community development from 2007 to 2010, would now invest R25.9-million on health, R92.9-million on education and R45-million on local economic development.

The investment was “critical and key” to the success of Lonmin, which would be investing $2-billion over the next five years to increase production at its operations, including an expansion at Marikana to 950 000 oz/y.

Of the estimated 85 000 people that reside around the miner’s operations, about 65% were in the age group of between 18 to 34, with a bare minimum having passed grade 12. There is an unemployment rate of about 38% across the villages surrounding Lonmin’s operations.

Driving skills development and ensuring basic services, such as education, infrastructure and health, would be key to enable Lonmin to close a skills gap.

“There is an acute shortfall of artisans and we have identified a need to invest in skills development. We are feeling the pressure of this challenge,” Kgotle said.

Lonmin has identified a need for a technical college, and a model for this project would be finalised in 2012.

But, Kgotle said much progress has been made with regard to education, as the grade 12 failure rate in the greater Lonmin community (GLC) decreased from 26.4% in 2009 to 15.47% in 2010.

The drive behind such investments in education, infrastructure development, healthcare and local economic development, was also to enable a shift with regard to the employment of skilled local people, as some 40% of workers were from the Eastern Cape.

The company would also spend R79-million this year on a hostel conversion programme to convert hostels into family and single units by 2014, by which time Lonmin expected to have spent some R380-million.

Eight blocks were converted from February to date, and a further 29 blocks would need to be converted by September. By 2010, 34 hostel blocks were converted, providing 424 family units and 70 bachelor units since 2008.

Kgotle remained confident that it would meet the 2014 target of 124 blocks, as prescribed by the Mining Charter, and said Lonmin was accelerating the programme to meet this deadline.

Rental for the units ranged between R350 and R650 a month, which included water and electricity, and was deducted from a living allowance of about R1 700 that workers needed to apply for.

Only emerging contractors from the GLC are used in the hostel-conversion programme, where five local construction companies have benefitted.
 

To subscribe to Mining Weekly's print magazine email subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za or buy now.