“South Africa’s mining industry matters for its employees and their families, communities and the country. It is a vital cog in the South African economy, and it can deliver greater positive shifts and grow its impact at home and abroad,” says the Minerals Council.
“Through the national economic gain from taxes and royalties, the social impact through the provision of jobs, wages and benefits, investing in education and training to employees and communities, and developing social projects and infrastructure, as well as providing the critical minerals to supplement our health and wellbeing, the mining industry consistently upholds its side of the social bargain and plays a meaningful, and at times an unappreciated role in our economy,” says Mzila Mthenjane, Minerals Council CEO.
#MiningMatters to all South Africans! Supplied by the Minerals Council SA
Low-carbon future: just and green transition
Launching the Minerals Council’s information sharing initiative, #MiningMatters, the breadth and depth of the positive impact of the mining industry on South African society reminds us that this sector, which is more than 130 years old, still has much to offer as a good corporate citizen and in playing its part in the just and green transition to a low-carbon future.
Social and Labour Plans (SLPs)
Members of the Minerals Council, and the wider mining industry, are actively involved in their host communities to improve lives and livelihoods primarily through their Social and Labour Plans (SLPs), which include investment and developments in schools, healthcare facilities and infrastructure projects, bursaries and directing procurement spending to new entrants and suppliers to establish start-up businesses and to spread the economic benefits from mining.
A survey of one year of reports from 12 of our members across five commodities (gold, PGMs, coal, diamonds and iron ore), representing about 60% of formal employment in the mining industry, showed that they spent R2.3-billion on socio-economic development, focusing largely on education and health.
Training and development
In addition, the companies surveyed spent R5.1-billion on training and development in a single financial year with an estimated value of between R13 500 and R21 700 per full-time employee across the various sectors.
Jobs and diversity
The mining industry was one of the few formal sectors to grow employment in 2023, adding more than 7 500 jobs, while wages increased by R12-billion to R186.5-billion, supporting the lives and livelihoods of employees and their families in a difficult economic climate.
Based on the survey, the assessed companies employed 36 480 women, representing 19% of full-time staff, with coal, iron ore and diamond producers having the largest numbers of women (29%, 26% and 24% respectively). Women employed by the gold and PGM companies in the survey, accounted for 18% of the workforce.
This survey infers that the industry as a whole employed 90 630 women in 2023, comprising 19% of the total full-time workforce, a noteworthy progression from the previous 15% in prior years.
According to the survey, women accounted for 25% of management in the companies assessed.
Taxes
The sector increased total taxes (company tax paid, royalties and PAYE by mining employees) by R9-billion or 7% to R135-billion for the intended benefit of all South Africans.
The Minerals Council’s initiative – https://www.mineralscouncil.org.za/ – highlights the industry’s contribution to the country, to employees and to communities.
“Mining is a long-term investment play, through market and economic cycles. It is imperative that there is a stable and predictable environment in relation to factors that can be controlled, such as legislation and critical and enabling infrastructure. Within such an operating environment in South Africa, mining is a growth industry that can perform to deliver on many expected areas of society,” says Mthenjane.
Presidency and business collaborating: energy, transport and crime
The Minerals Council and its members are actively involved with the Presidency and organised business to address energy, transport and crime and corruption to arrest the decline in the mining industry’s performance and enable a vision for growth of the sector and the South African economy, and to create meaningful jobs and provide for a life with dignity and hope.
“Our industry’s future, and its ability to continue to ensure that #MiningMatters to all of us, depends on the willingness and commitment of people of Mzansi – including government, employees, communities and mining companies – to collaborate to create a conducive policy, legislative and operating environment that will shift the economic potential of the mining sector to performance and delivery for the benefit of all South Africans,” says Mthenjane.
To hear more about this, visit https://www.mineralscouncil.org.za/special-features/1396-mining-matters-to-south-africa-and-its-people
Source: Supplied by Minerals Council South Africa