“This is a genuinely powerful and positive outcome from this work to date – supporting a different kind of relationship between the mine and its communities.”
The pilot project included four sites in South Africa as well as an Australian operation.
Identifying key opportunities
“The survey suggests that we hold a strong position in the communities we impact most directly,” said Tina Malau, Landau Colliery’s community development superintendent in the eMalahleni area of South Africa. “However, there is much scope for us to extend and develop this relationship.”
The survey results suggested participants had largely positive views of the mine’s impact on local business, community development, and the environment. The data also showed that community members believed that the mine listened and responded to their concerns and also showed high levels of trust and acceptance. Meanwhile, managing impacts relating to health and wellness showed room for improvement.
The mine held a feedback session, hosted at the SACE Recreation Club in eMalahleni, which gave respondents an opportunity to expand on the responses they gave during the survey as well as provide input to the design of measures that address their concerns and expectations.
“The discussions that followed were extremely valuable, and have presented us with several opportunities in which we can play a valuable role in addressing community concerns and expectations,” said Bonke Ntimane, Landau Colliery’s general manager.
What do you think about the Masazane Project? Is it an effective way at engaging with the communities local to our mines? We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments box below.
This article was originally published by The Guardian.
