A refreshed outlook on Enterprise and Supplier Development

Glencore Ferroalloys is committed to supporting local entrepreneurs across various sectors to bring about sustainable impact. We are optimistic that our ESD programme equips these entrepreneurs to enable economic activity of other community members through a ripple-effect, thereby transforming the livelihoods of members of the wider community.

Our three ESD business incubation hubs have been instrumental in building the capacity of local entrepreneurs with some attending classes at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) to hone their business acumen, capacity and experience in understanding the business landscape, including risks.

Furthermore, we focus on localising the economy by bringing our procurement closer to our operations so that we remain competitive by reducing logistics, costs, lead times and more. Among others, we recently supported a youth-owned business with a front-end loader and an established transport business with busses to fulfil their business objectives, thereby creating further job opportunities, particularly for unemployed youth.

Future-focused skills and development

Once the Fetakgomo-Tubatse SEZ is established we are confident it will drive industrialisation and reposition Limpopo Province to propel economic growth and development in the area and we are accordingly re-focusing our skills and development programmes to include broader skills (not just mining-related) so that community members may become economically active in alternative spheres of the local economy either through self-employment or formal employment.

In 2022 we rolled out 16 portable-skills programmes. With an 83% completion rate, 645 community learners received certificates and 60% of the participants were female. The skills programmes included several engineering courses and business management, computer skills, carpentry, welding, plastering, tiling and painting, plumbing, road maintenance, brick manufacturing and vegetable farming, among others. We have also partnered with the AgriSETA to offer a programme that aims to create and promote opportunities for social, economic and employment growth in agrienterprises in both the primary and secondary agricultural sectors. Through this collaboration, 58 beneficiaries have graduated with skills that can be deployed in the agricultural sector and in the long term, this will bring benefit to their communities.

Other projects

In response to President Ramaphosa’s National Strategic Plan (NSP) on Gender Based Violence (GBV), we were one of the first to respond and joined forces with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in the construction of the very first free-standing Thuthuzela Care Centre (TCC) built with brick and mortar in Limpopo Province, which offers victims of abuse all the required services and assistance they need in one fully-fledged facility. Due to the high rates of GBV, the importance of such a facility cannot be overstated in an area where there simply are no other facilities to ensure that victims of these horrific offences experience no secondary trauma through the examination processes, and that a proper casefile is built for successful prosecution. The Dilokong TCC is set to be the blueprint for future TCCs in South Africa, as it will cater to a victim’s every need, in one central place.

Our legacy

Aligned to our value of entrepreneurialism, our vision for the Mining Supply Park which will be instrumental in the Fetakgomo-Tubatse SEZ, as well as our other projects in Limpopo Province, supports the legacy we want to leave behind. Glencore Ferroalloys aims to set the benchmark in developing our community members, their families and their broader communities not only while we are working in these areas, but long after resources in the area are depleted and our work has come to an end. ■

Energy

Samancor will supplement its grid with solar power.

Aline in the draft 2023/24 Integrated Development Plan of the Waterberg District Municipality indicates a new trend in the energy landscape of Limpopo. The document includes a reference to the Nalane Green Solar Energy Project, which has started implementing its R5-billion investment plan.

A province that has huge reserves of coal is starting to pay serious attention to renewable energy.

The Premier of Limpopo, Chupu Mathabatha, announced in the State of the Province Address in February 2023 that a “province-specific and comprehensive energy plan to ensure that we build a new electricity generation capacity in our province” is to be developed.

Provincial and municipal bodies will be encouraged to promote energy-production projects. This might include solar panels being retrofitted on official buildings. In the same speech, the launch of a Renewable Energy Strategy by Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone, in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development, was announced. The strategy will act as a blueprint to guide investments in the SEZ’s energy cluster while simultaneously promoting sustainable development.

Samancor intends building a 60MW solar photov oltaic (PV) plant to help power its Tubatse ferrochrome smelter complex in the Sekhukhune District Municipality. A battery energy storage system will also form part of the energy installation.

GM miner Ivanhoe Mines wants to procure some of the power it needs for its Platreef mine from green sources. The mining company is building its own 5MW solar plant and has also signed an offtake agreement with Renergen to have access to the electricity generated by that company’s gas and solar power plant in the Free State province. Renergen is powering ahead with a project to produce

Sector Insight

helium and liquified natural gas at its Virginia Gas Project.

Both Special Economic Zones in Limpopo are making a play for the green hydrogen market.

The Musina-Makhado SEZ has also signed an agreement with a Chinese company for the first phase of a project that will supply 1 000MW of solar power to support the SEZ’s metallurgical complex. The two local municipalities in the area have been allocated R147-million by provincial government for infrastructure upgrades, including electricity.

The Fetakgomo-Tubatse SEZ also has intentions of attracting green power. One of the region’s biggest mineralsprocessing companies, Samancor Chrome, intends building a solar photovoltaic (PV) plant that will deliver up to 60MWp-capacity ( Mining Weekly). The current will be converted and sent to the Samancor grid in support of the Tubatse ferrochrome smelter. The company has appointed consultants to carry out a heritage impact assessment on the farm Goudmyn in the Fetakgomo Local Municipality.

A new public-private planning exercise, known as Impact Catalyst, is working on focus areas which include biofuels and intends to prepare the province to deal with the emergence of new sectors such as renewable energy.

Two of the province’s other big mining companies have also announced plans to generate their own power. Exxaro’s huge coal mine at Grootgeluk (which supplies Eskom power plants) will be the site of an 84MW solar project and Northam Platinum is building a 10MW solar plant at its Zondereinde smelter. The company expects to recoup its investment within four years. At Northam’s Eland Mine a PV Solar Project serves the dual purpose of keeping cars cool in the car park while also producing energy from the solar panels. The solar farm will generate approximately 1 800MWh of electricity annually or 4% of annual electricity demand and help to reduce emissions.

The concentrator of the Mogalakwena Mine run by Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) relies on constant and reliable electricity supply. With energy comprising a significant portion of costs and Eskom experiencing difficulties in terms of its debt and

Online Resources

National Energy Regulator: www.nersa.org.za

South African Independent Power Producers Association: www.saippa.org.za

South African National Energy Development Institute: www.sanedi.org.za

South African Photovoltaic Industry Association: www.sapvia.co.za its ability to supply reliable power, the mining company is investigating the installation of a large solar PV project.

Implats is already using natural gas to supply its refinery in Springs. In Phase one of the project 20 Doosan fuel cells are generating 8MW of power. The long-term goal is to generate 22-30MW.

A high school in Modimolle has signed up with energy-as-aservice company Solarise Africa for solar panels and a water heating system. The Hoërskool Nylstroom plant, with a total capacity of 49.05kWp and an estimated annual production of 83MWh, will reduce the school’s carbon emissions by 3 333 tons of CO2 emissions during the contract period.

The company says that the integration of heat pump solutions sets the project apart, enabling as it does the school to save an impressive 60MWh through the water heating system alone. The combined energy saved from the water heating system and solar PV system amounts to143MWh annually.

The financing model allows the school to benefit from the system without having to lay out a huge upfront payment. Headmaster Anton du Plessis commented on the educational benefits of the installation. He said, “By harnessing renewable energy, we are not only reducing our carbon emissions but also creating a learning environment that empowers our youth to actively contribute to a greener future.” ■