Coal miner Wescoal has successfully relocated eight families living in a blasting radius at its Khanyisa colliery, in Mpumalanga.
The group this week handed over the title deeds for eight newly-built modern homes in Klarinet, a housing development in eMalahleni.
Once the affected community members had agreed to the relocation, Wescoal arranged and paid the housing developers at Klarinet to provide eight homes at just under R500 000 each, says Wescoal group CEO Reginald Demana.
The company also financed the relocation costs for the family’s furniture and goods and will provide each family with R800 a month towards rates, taxes and electricity for the first year.
The initiative forms part of practical steps taken by the company to implement its vision as a material contributor to uplifting its employees and communities, he adds.
The relocation project is part of the sustainability pillar of ensuring regulatory and social licences to operate in communities and share the tangible benefits of mining.
“Our key strategic objective is to stabilise our operations, then optimise our performance and scale-up through primarily organic opportunities,” Demana says.