Take community engagement seriously, ARM’s Motsepe advises – by Martin Creamer (Mining Weekly.com – March 16, 2017)

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JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The South African mining industry must take community engagement extremely seriously to prevent this country’s global competitiveness from being negatively impacted, African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) executive chairperson Patrice Motsepe urged on Thursday.

Speaking at question time after ARM reporting a basic earnings loss of R254-million in the six months to December 31, the ARM founder spoke of the importance of the mining industry building community trust and goodwill through creating employment, education and upskilling, including at senior level employment. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video).

Proper training, he said, would ensure that recruitment was strictly merit based, with communities being made fully aware of the losses suffered if mines were forced to close through a lack of profitability.

Motsepe was speaking a day after he attended a mass meeting at the company’s troubled Modikwa platinum mine in Limpopo province, on which R734-million had to be written off in the six months to December 31.

What he witnessed yesterday at Modikwa emphasised the critical importance of partnering with employees and communities that live next to mines. Companies that failed to do so in “this highly politicised environment in South Africa”, would end up having problems.

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