Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) Africa’s Frontier copper mine, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has signed a community development plan agreement through which the miner is pledging its support towards local, sustainable development initiatives for the next five years to benefit the six communities near its operations.

With the agreement, ERG Africa is reaffirming its commitment to helping build self-sustaining and thriving communities surrounding its operations, acting CEO Sergei Verbitckii said in a statement on October 6.

He said the company “took a holistic and integrated approach to shaping the projects contained in the agreement with the aim of fostering local economic growth, improving livelihoods, creating employment, helping secure regional food security and improving access to education and healthcare services”.

The projects captured in the finalised plan were collectively agreed upon to ensure transparency, align expectations and establish collective ownership among all stakeholders.

The projects in the plan build on previous development activities and the requirements of the country’s 2018 mining code and will benefit about 16 500 households.

They include the completion of a large-scale water reticulation system in the town of Sakania that will provide clean domestic water to the town’s residents, while the mine will also assist in the construction of two new schools and support healthcare services.

The community-identified need for sustainable food production and economic development has also resulted in various inter-connected projects that include the diversification of agricultural projects from maize to include vegetables, legumes and poultry farming; and the development of adjacent enterprises and capacity building programmes.

These interwoven initiatives aim to ensure that local people can organise and engage themselves effectively and equitably in agricultural markets and value chains, further fostering community resilience, food security, economic participation and improved governance, stated ERG.