Platinum mining and marketing company Impala Platinum’s (Implats’) programmes and initiatives to advance women in mining have received good participation, with the company reporting that women comprise 11% of its workforce.

Implats, which has five main operations in South Africa’s Bushveld Complex and Zimbabwe’s Great Dyke, is satisfied with this percentage, as it indicates transformation and room for growth.

Last year, women represented 33% of mining graduates and 67% of mining diploma graduates at its Rustenburg operation, states Implats, emphasising that the number of individuals taking part in its women in mining development programmes continues to improve in all mining training streams.

Implats group sustainable development manager John Nkosi says the company develops candidates and encourages female participation through its mining training programmes. “We have seen good results from these initiatives in 2016, with one-third of the individuals who were awarded degrees [being] women, while women accounted for two-thirds of those attaining mining diplomas,” he explains.

Implats has also implemented programmes and initiatives to specifically support and advance women in the mining industry. These programmes and initiatives are in line with the company’s overarching human resources strategy, which aims to ensure that Implats has the right people at the right place executing high-quality work, Nkosi tells Mining Weekly.

“We try and attract women to the mining industry, positioning it as a viable and attractive profession where women are well paid and rewarded for their efforts, and are highly regarded and respected by their colleagues. Currently, we employ around 2 960 women at our Rustenburg operation working in occupations right across the value chain and intend to grow their numbers. We proactively identify and promote high potential candidates from these ranks, as well as from outside the organisation,” says Nkosi.

To further support and advance the mining industry as an attainable career choice for women, Implats hosted a women in mining safety forum last year at its Impala Rustenburg operation, in the North West, to improve their working conditions. Recently, Implats also employed a women in mining task team to analyse female representation at all levels across its business to implement and monitor strategies to advance and develop women in the workplace, monitor and mitigate against unfair discrimination, and to make recommendations on accelerating the recruitment, development and promotion of women working at Implats.

Diversity Drive

Implats aims to continuously transform its employment equity. Its diversity and employment equity strategy at its South African operations focuses on issues such as meeting and exceeding legislated employment equity targets of the Mining Charter and the Employment Equity Act. In addition, Implats aims to integrate transformation and employment equity considerations, accelerate the recruitment, development and promotion of designated groups into levels of occupation that are underrepresented, and instil a corporate culture and value system to advance transformation. Adhering to these objectives will support the cultural transformation strategy of the South African mining industry.

Implats’ key objectives for 2017 include focusing on promoting diversity in the organisation and advancing historically disadvantaged South Africans (HDSAs) and women across all its local operations.

In addition, it aspires to eliminate transformational barriers and empower operational transformational forums to advance equity.

Implats also intends to focus on retaining and promoting talent from within the organisation and address amendments in the latest iteration of the Mining Charter. Implats also strives to continue improving the representation of HDSAs at senior management level.

Although the new charter does not mention women in mining separately, it does state that it aims to have 25% black women in executive management positions, 30% black women in senior management, 38% black women in middle management and 44% black women in junior management.