Kumba Iron Ore has announced a R1.6 billion mining contract to a black-owned, community-based joint venture at its Kolomela Mine operation in the Northern Cape. The Anglo American Iron Ore subsidiary says the joint venture with the community-based consortium is expected to create 200 direct job opportunities.
The joint venture will look to produce between 5 to 10 million tons of ore in its first year of operation. As part of the contract, Kumba says it will provide ongoing upskilling and support to the joint venture to ensure that quality and safety standards are met.
Supply Chain Manager at Kumba Iron Ore, Vusi Maseko, says the contract marks the first in the industry, where local community suppliers will be used to run mining operations of this scale and magnitude.
“So this is the very first one for local communities. We always utilised contractors but they would always come from outside our host communities, so this is the first that has hundred percent that come from the community. The companies themselves have been involved in a smaller scale with us providing other services most of them also related to the actual process of mining.”
Step forward for transformation
The joint venture will comprise of four black community-owned companies. Joint venture spokesperson, Kabelo Andreas says the contract is a step forward for transformation in the local mining industry.
He says the biggest shareholder of the contract within consortium has over five years in mining experience.
“We identified three companies to be specific, one company that we identified was Peo Entle, which we then gave 15% shareholding because it’s based with the Tsantsebane area. We also identified another company called Andisa, which we also gave 15% to, which is also based in the Tsantsebane area, which is a door step to this particular opportunity. Then we also identified another company, which comes from the Joe Morolong municipality, which is Matshila.”
Kumba says it has numerous engagement platforms with the various business forums and community to ensure that any challenges — which may occur — are heard and sufficiently dealt with.
Kumba Iron Ore contract discussed in the SABC News video below:
