JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The 2014 IRAS Sustainability Data Transparency Index (SDTI) report has been published, with platinum producer Anglo America Platinum (Amplats) topping the mining/metals companies list and ranking second out of the more than 300 companies assessed throughout South Africa across all sectors.

Following Amplats on the list compiled by IRAS, a Johannesburg-based niche consultancy, were platinum producers Lonmin and Impala Platinum, which ranked third and sixth overall, respectively.

The SDTI referred to the “internally developed list of quantitative data points that stakeholders should reasonably expect JSE-listed companies to provide performance data for”, junior mining company Wesizwe Platinum, which ranked twelfth on the mining/metals companies list, noted in a statement on Monday. 

The index report examined categories such as standard disclosures, labour, economic, corporate social investment/socioeconomic development expenditures, environmental, health and safety, and governance, and assessed the key strengths and weaknesses in each area of reporting.

In this year’s IRAS SDTI report, Wesizwe leaped into the top-12 list of the 45 mining companies assessed. The company, which was currently in the process of developing its flagship project, the Bakubung platinum mine, in the North West province, attributed the improvement to the quality of its integrated sustainability reporting.

The overall SDTI ranking for companies assessed in the metals and mining sector was 48.93%, while Wesizwe scored 66.2%. The company ranked twenty-seventh overall – “a great improvement from position 82 in the last financial year assessment”, the company noted. 

Commenting on Wesizwe’s ranking, executive of corporate affairs and investor relations Hamlet Morule said:  “This is a remarkable achievement for Wesizwe Platinum in terms of its integrated reporting process.  As a new junior mining company in South Africa, we strive to implement best practice approaches in all aspects of our work.  This prestigious ranking demonstrates the commitment across the company to strive for the highest levels of transparency and professionalism in our reporting.”

IRAS maintains a database of South African reports and reviews 311 companies as part of its research work for the preparation of its yearly SDTI. Over the past six years, IRAS has researched the effectiveness of corporate sustainability reporting in South Africa, providing an invaluable guidebook for effective reporting, states Wesizwe.