Amplats Drives Sustainable Land Reform And Transformation

Platinum producer, Anglo American Platinum today handed over a further 270 hectares of land to the Rustenburg Local Municipality and the Rustenburg Community Development Trust in support of sustainable land reform in South Africa. This handover of additional land and the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources, Sahlulele Luzipo, builds upon Anglo American’s commitment the country’s journey of transformation, the company said in a statement.

Anglo American Platinum handed over more than 242 hectares to the Rustenburg Local Municipality to complete housing and resettlement projects aimed at improving the lives of the people of Rustenburg. Through this contribution, a number of municipal housing and resettlement projects will be enabled, including: the formalisation of the Nkaneng and Popo Molefe informal settlements and the resettlement of the residents of Chachalaza informal settlement, undertaken in partnership with the Rustenburg Local Municipality and the North West Provincial Department of Human Settlements.

The Rustenburg Community Development Trust will receive more than 27 hectares to construct a care centre for some 155 people. The care centre will provide care for the disabled, the elderly, orphans and child-headed families in the community. This additional handover of land builds upon the 204 hectares of land, valued at more than R30 million, that Anglo American Platinum transferred to the Rustenburg Local Municipality in 2014.

In the last five years, Anglo American Platinum’s total contribution of land to the Rustenburg community totals 474 hectares, valued at R57 million. Complementing this is the company’s investment of more than R140 million in bulk infrastructure through the construction of the Bokamoso Waste Water Treatment Plant and tarred access roads into the community.

Anglo American Platinum CEO, Chris Griffith, said: “Advancing sustainable land reform is an important part of South Africa’s ongoing transformation journey. Today’s handover of 270 hectares of land and the infrastructure that complements it demonstrates the role business can play in contributing positively to land reform and socio-economic development. Through this contribution, and other initiatives, Anglo American Platinum is playing a responsible role in catalysing development in our host communities. The additional land we’re handing over today will contribute towards enabling such development in Rustenburg, bringing sustainable economic and social benefits to this thriving community.”

Anglo American is taking a collaborative and regional approach to sustainable economic development. The company has initiated a tripartite agreement with the Rustenburg Local Municipality and the North West Department of Human Settlements to facilitate the delivery of 4,000 housing units, using the land previously handed over by Anglo American Platinum.

The Minister of Mineral Resources, Gwede Mantashe said: “We welcome the initiative taken by Anglo American today to support government’s socio-economic transformation agenda. I wish to thank the leadership of Anglo American Platinum and government, both nationally and provincially, for ensuring that we get to this point where we can officially hand over this land for the benefit of our people.”

“Anglo American has been rooted in South Africa for 102 years and we continue to work in partnership with government and our host communities to resolve South Africa’s most significant challenges. We will continue building on the progress we’ve made to help build a more just and equitable South Africa by focusing on creating broader social value through mining,” added Griffith.

In October 2018, Anglo American responded to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s call for greater investment by committing more than R70 billion over the next five years to sustain and extend the lives of its mining operations. This investment, the largest that was pledged at the SA Investment Conference, spans the company’s PGMs, iron ore, coal and diamonds interests in South Africa, and includes what is currently the largest single investment made in South Africa’s mining industry in recent years – the R20 billion investment in the Venetia diamond mine in Limpopo.