Palabora Mining Company

PMC INVESTS IN SELWANA VILLAGE

by constructing a 3km road

PMC is aware and understands its moral responsibility as a corporate citizen of BaPhalaborwa and the influential role that we are expected to play in the development of local communities and supporting economies, and strive as far as possible to nurture harmonious relationships with host communities. As PMC, we firmly believe in establishing relationships with our stakeholders on the basis of trust.

The socio-economic issues most prevalent in our host communities include unemployment, low economic growth, inadequate infrastructure, and lack of access to services including healthcare and education. Communities also have concerns about food and water security.

In framing our approach to social contribution, we are guided by a set of guidelines that outline the philosophy, scope and application of our community development initiatives.

Focus areas include:

• Enterprise and supplier development • Localization of employment • Localization of procurement opportunities • Infrastructure development • Support for public health initiatives • Education and skills development • Preservation of the environment

In helping to build livelihoods in host communities, we work with a range of stakeholders at local and provincial level, on projects and initiatives to ensure that we secure our own social license to operate in the local communities. The main local stakeholders are Ba-Phalaborwa Municipality, Traditional Authorities, Ba-Phalaborwa Community Forum and sector departments.

For many years Selwana always had a dusty and uncomfortable gravel road that was not maintained on a frequent basis. Palabora Mining Company as part of their Social and Labour Plan identified and committed to construct a 3km tar road into the village. The road was officially handed over to the Department of Roads and Transport on the 07th of July 2022 after an event that was hosted at Selwana Traditional Authority with a number of community members in attendance.

The event took place at the Selwana community hall which was constructed in 2019 from the dividends received from PMC through the Leolo Community Trust.

For years, Road Agency Limpopo (RAL) and Ba-Phalaborwa Local Municipality

were in discussions seeking a resolution to meet the fair expectations of the Selwana Traditional Authorities and its community, resilient in their protest, demanding for change in their quality of life through construction of a proper access road into the village. The mining giant, through the Integrated Development Plan of Ba-Phalaborwa Municipality, was convinced by the consolidated due diligence outcomes that measured the potential socio-economic impact and return on investment achievable through construction of a 3km road in Selwana village. The new 3km road was constructed following the specification of a regional road and finished with asphalt.

The project partnership was beyond just ticking a compliance checklist to secure the mining license for PMC. It was equally motivated by the desire to unleash the projected potential that could transform the lives of the people in Selwana for the better. Once the partnership commenced, some benefits were activated immediately such as:

• Community appreciation of the immediate positive impact of the road construction project. • Municipality was on par with service delivery expectations from the community. • Tribal authority was prioritizing the interest of the people. • Improved market access for the local crop farmers.

This project has presented a number of spin-offs for the community of Selwana which includes but not limited to:

• The road construction project enabled an overnight boom of fixed term job opportunities. • The project workforce and employees were conveniently sourced from the local community ranging from elementary to skilled. • Subcontracting opportunities for local businesses. • Farmers have improved access to markets to preserve their produce. • The locals were temporarily employed, financially empowered, and able to boost local economic activity through circulation of money within Selwana.

MEC for Roads and Transport, Honourable Nkakareng, was delivering the Keynote Address at the event and stated that she appreciated PMC for always lending a helping hand to the municipality in ensuring that the lives of the Ba-Phalaborwa residents are improved and sustained. She commended the mining giant on caring for the people within their host communities, just as Tata Nelson Mandela encouraged people to do.

Many speakers at the event echoed the same message directed to the community of Selwana, the road that was constructed was neither done for PMC, the municipality, nor the traditional authorities. The 3km road belongs to the people of Selwana village. It remains their responsibility to protect and look after their infrastructure. Roads tend to be damaged during community protests all over the country and this was strongly discouraged as it needs to serve everyone who resides in those communities.

The road will create easy access for community members to travel into town, ensure that medical services can be accessed easily, and enabling emerging crop farmers in Selwana to reduce travel time to the markets as well as wear and tear on their vehicles. The relationship between the traditional authorities, government partners and PMC played a vital role in In witnessing how the road added value for the community of Selwana, PMC has decided to fund a further 3km. "We have a strong conviction that after the additional 3km road construction, the Department of Roads and Transport will be in a position to come on board to construct the road to connect to the Eiland road. We are proud to kick-off Mandela Month by handing over this road to the Department of Roads and Transport as well as the community of Selwana", said PMC Business Leader, Zakes Malepe.

As part of PMC’s Stakeholder Engagement Strategy, it is important for us to partner with government to ensure that we are able to collectively make a difference for the people in Ba-Phalaborwa and ensure that we leave a long-lasting legacy in our host communities.

PMC IN PARTNERSHIP WITH MURRAY & ROBERTS GIVE BACK TO LOCAL VILLAGE SCHOOLS

The provision of services such as water in the local schools of Makhushane village came in as a major boost when Murray & Roberts Cementation in partnership with Palabora Mining Company (PMC) officially handed over the three (3) fully equipped boreholes that came with purification systems, three (3) water tanks and concrete basin basins at St Patrick Mathibela primary school, Makhushane lower primary school and Bollanoto primary school. The official handover took place at Makhushane Lower Primary School on the 13th of June 2022.

Murray & Roberts, in partnership with PMC have ensured that teaching and learning continues within Makhushane village by providing proper sanitation and purified drinking water. This partnership has ensured that three (3) schools’ benefits from the sinking of boreholes for the provision of water. Education is a societal issue and considering all the challenges that the Department of Education is facing.

By partnering with our stakeholders, we can indeed improve the lives of every child across the education landscape and Ba-Phalaborwa communities at large.

“As PMC, we always believe in giving back to the community and that is what we have been doing. I would also like to applaud our contractors for always coming through when we plead with them to help us in developing our local communities. This in turn provides temporary employment to the locals in the respective areas, who usually are from previously disadvantaged background,’’ said PMC’s Manager for Transformation, Stakeholder Engagement and Communication, Abby Ledwaba.

As a responsible corporate citizen of Ba-Phalaborwa PMC’s focus is usually guided by the influence and engagement with local traditional authorities, municipality SLP and community leaders.

Our strategic focus areas include but are not limited to:

• Infrastructure development • Education based initiatives • Skills development and creating local employment • Enterprise and Supplier development • Providing support to Safety and

Health initiatives

For many years, schools in the villages did not have classrooms, sufficient water, or sanitation. The three (3) schools were identified as the neediest for boreholes as they have been struggling with running water in their schools which posed a significant health challenge. The three (3) schools in Makhushane were identified as the neediest and deserving of the intervention.

Fred Durand, Senior Project Manager from Murray & Roberts Cementation gave a heartfelt speech regarding the borehole water project that they were able to fund as a company. “I am grateful I was part of this good initiative and to the leaders of the three schools, please feel free if you need help with anything, we will openly assist, these children are the future”, Durand said.

The contractor representative from Team Legodi Pty (Ltd), Dennis Legodi was also afforded an opportunity to share a message of appreciation. Legodi thanked the two companies for giving him an opportunity to render the service. The three schools were giving a warranty of 12 months and he further mentioned that the boreholes will sustain them for at least 15 years to come.

These initiatives have played a huge part in developing these rural schools at Makhushane village as well as restoring the human dignity for learners and educators alike. The three (3) schools now have drinkable water, flushing toilets and water to irrigate their garden, which supplies vegetables for the school’s feeding scheme which supplies the community with fresh fruit and vegetables. It remains PMC’s objective to support the community in ensuring that there is proper sanitation, shelter, and basic resources. PMC has also built ablution buildings for all three schools and kitchen to bridge the gap that existed within the schools. Most of these projects have ensured that some of the disadvantaged communities have created temporary employment as the companies who were tasked are local Enterprise companies to execute the projects. This in turn provides income for the locals and boost the local economy.

Speaking at the handovers for the ablution facilities and newly built kitchens at Bollanoto primary school, Dr N Ndebele, Director at the Limpopo Education MEC office, ‘’We are grateful to PMC for always assisting and supporting the Department of Education, with these projects, you have restored the dignity of the black child. As educators and principals, we commit ourselves to looking after the investment that you have made in ensuring that teaching and learning is uninterrupted, “She said

Even though it is required by the Social Labour Plan for corporate companies to provide financial support to local disadvantaged communities, PMC continues to be a leader in the mining industry that cares for the community where it operates, by providing relevant projects to sustain the community in ensuring that the future of the youth is secured.

Director at the Limpopo Education MEC office, ‘’We are grateful to PMC for always assisting and supporting the Department of Education, with these projects, you have restored the dignity of the black child.

CONTACT

Palabora Copper (Pty) Limited 1 Copper Road Phalaborwa Limpopo 1389 Tel: +2715 780 2911 Fax: +2715 780 2093 www.palabora.com