JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Bakgatla-Ba-Kgafela community traditional leader Kgosi Nyalala Molefe John Pilane has urged mining companies to regard traditional communities established within prospective or existing mining operations as partners rather than adversaries.

He noted that the traditional community should be acknowledged and treated as though it were any other formal stakeholder, adding that it should be leveraged as a resource during the development and operation of the mine.

“A local community with strong leadership is an [asset] to a mining company, providing easy access to labour and lowering costs. Perhaps because these communities are not seen as well organised, companies don’t always know who to approach, but they can approach these communities in a structured way.

“[When done properly], it’s a win-win situation for everyone,” Pilane said at a Fasken Martineau pre-Mining Indaba primer on Friday.

Also speaking at the event, former Chamber of Mines CEO Mzolisi Goodman Diliza said mining companies that were active in South Africa without visible commitment to community inclusion and development, adopting the “tick-box” approach, would not succeed.

“If the activities of a mining company aren’t acceptable to the local community, it will be unable to access those resources without their consent. [As such], a social licence to operate is very important,” he held.

Public participation firm YaMedupi Solutions founder Herbert Medupe further emphasised the significance of granting traditional leadership the same degree of consideration as local political leadership.

“The relationship between these two leaderships and the mining company is very important and the one should not be considered more [valid] than the other. If the company doesn’t have the interests of the community at heart, then it doesn’t have a future,” he noted.

Medupe added that companies should begin local consultation early on in the mine development process, rather than delaying its engagement with the community until after the completion of all feasibility and assessment studies.

“Unfortunately, mining companies seem to consult only when they need the licences, but they should be consulting with the communities during the actual implementation phase, such as the environmental-impact assessment,” he said.

Responding to concerns that the consultation process was often a lengthy, expensive and protracted process that delayed construction of an otherwise viable operation, Pilane averred that both parties should not see this process as an administrative burden, but rather the negotiation of an investment agreement.

“There is a misunderstanding that the consultation takes a long time, but every investment takes a long time to mature. When [mining companies] talk of investment, they say these investments take time [to yield rewards], so let the consultation process accommodate that,” he noted.

In addition, mining companies needed to accept that communities displayed a “high” level of mistrust that needed to be breached.

Medupe added that companies should not expect the consultation process to be a quick one, as any decision by the community would have “huge” implications.

“Going at [the community’s] pace without compromising the company’s own target is very important and if the firm tries to speed up the process, it runs the risk of being perceived as trying to trick the community, which has happened before. 

“The company needs to accept that to receive community buy-in, it needs to take the time to build a relationship,” he concluded.