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Thirty-one of the World Gold Council’s (WGC’s) member companies collectively contributed $37.9-billion, in the form of taxes, salaries and payments to suppliers, to the gross domestic product of the countries in which they operate during 2020.

This represents 63% of the total revenue these companies received from gold sales in the same year and equates to almost $1 100 in value added locally for every ounce of gold produced.

In the council’s latest report, which focuses on the social and economic contribution of gold mining, it noted that WGC member companies employed 200 000 people directly, 95% of whom were nationals of the host countries.

These companies also supported an additional 1.2-million jobs through local suppliers.

These 1.4-million jobs induce another 700 000 jobs in local economies, which the council said meant that “every job in the gold mining industry supports six more, or close to ten more if induced jobs are included”.

A strong focus from WGC member companies on local hiring in recent years has led to demonstrable results, with local employees making up 95% of the workforce, halving the percentage of expatriates in the workforce (from 10% to 5%) over the past seven years.

The report further highlighted that wages among WGC member companies were, on average, six times higher than the national average.

In 2020, WGC member companies directly paid $8.7-billion in employee wages and $7.6-billion in tax payments to governments in 38 countries where they operate. On top of this, direct payments of $26-billion were made through in-country procurement and the resulting indirect value added was estimated at $21.6-billion to local suppliers, the report stated.

Further, it said that, for every dollar spent on imports, close to five dollars were spent on local sourcing.

The WGC collaborated with research partner, Steward Redqueen, who used an econometric input-output model, which quantifies financial flows between economic sectors, to calculate the industry’s indirect impact and overall value added.

The analysis combined financial data from WGC members with macroeconomic and employment statistics from publicly available country datasets.

In terms of performance relating to environment, social and corporate governance (ESG), the report stated that the industry “continues to evolve and improve its ESG performance”, as was reflected in the adoption of the Responsible Gold Mining Principles by all WGC member companies and several other leading gold miners.

In 2020, WGC member companies contributed $438-million to communities and indigenous groups.

In this regard, Newcrest Mining CEO and WGC ESG Taskforce chairperson Sandeep Biswas said gold producers were “working in partnership with communities, governments and civil society in countries where we operate to share the value created by responsible mining”.

He added that the report outlined the enormous social and economic contribution the industry is making in countries across the world.

“Responsible gold mining companies boost local economies by creating well paid local jobs, making significant tax payments and creating valuable long-life infrastructure. Investments made by the gold sector will continue to deliver long-term benefits to local communities, extending to well after mine life ends,” he commented.

WGC CFO Terry Heymann, meanwhile, echoed Biswas’ sentiments, adding that the WGC and its members have “long believed that when responsibly undertaken, gold mining can contribute significantly to social and economic development for host communities and countries”.

The report “clearly sets out the important role responsible gold miners play in supporting local and national economies”, he said, noting that the council believes that the comprehensive data set can help provide further transparency into the contribution made by the responsible gold mining sector.

“The report also provides further evidence of the important contribution made by this industry in advancing the ...

South Africa-linked Gareth Penny on Monday heralded the entry of a carbon-neutral nickel into the global market.

He did so in his capacity as nonexecutive chairperson of Nornickel of Russia – and put sharper focus on the carbon-neutrality of South Africa’s platinum group metals (PGMs) in the process.

This is because Nornickel, as a long-standing producer of PGMs as a byproduct of nickel, has a significant influence on particularly palladium within the PGMs fold.

South African-born Penny, best known as the former MD of De Beers, was speaking at Nornickel’s capital markets day when he highlighted Nornickel’s carbon-neutral nickel initiative as being a "very important" forerunner of what would develop in the nickel space in the years ahead. Penny stepped down from De Beers in 2010 after 22 years with De Beers and Anglo American.

He spoke after Nornickel VP sales and distribution Anton Berlin had firmly hailed the company as the setter of a new benchmark for the global metals mining industry that was not tied to any carbon credits.

“For us, carbon-neutral nickel is an extremely important new product. We have been the first ones to offer it in the market. There have been some transactions in the market from a supplier but through carbon credits. We have taken a very different approach,” Berlin said of the Moscow-listed company’s carbon-neutral outcome.

The company was sending an important signal to the global mining industry by making the necessary effort and the investment.

“We believe we’re setting the new benchmark for the global metals industry,” Berlin emphasised at the capital markets day covered by Mining Weekly.

SINGLE BIGGEST DRIVER OF CONSUMPTION

In the view of Nornickel, climate change is poised to be the biggest single driver of long-term metals consumption as the enabling of greener energy and decarbonised transportation would be a metals heavy exercise. It noted that all major economies were aspiring towards carbon neutrality and, while timeframes differed, the decarbonising direction of all countries was the same.

While the only negative effect was the likely decrease in the demand for PGMs owing to the uptake of battery electric vehicles, that would be offset by increased demand for the company’s nickel and the extent to which hybrid electric vehicles advanced.

With battery electric vehicles expected to be carbon neutral – provided the energy supplied to them is carbon neutral – and hybrids offering a significant reduction of carbon emissions, question marks remained over how big the relative share of battery electric vehicles versus hybrid electric vehicles would be, especially since the ease of implementation of hybrid vehicles was seen as being considerably higher than for battery electric vehicles. Against that background, Nornickel’s projection is that battery electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles will have a 50:50 split by 2030.

With regard to platinum, Nornickel expressed longer-term bullishness in the precious metal along with the belief that short-term platinum production would be absorbed by investment demand, which it described as making perfect sense from the long-term investment point of view.

Nornickel is a leading producer of nickel and palladium, as well as being a producer of platinum and copper.

The bid by Impala Platinum Holdings Limited (Implats) for a majority shareholding in Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBPlat) presents an opportunity to create a sizeable Western Limb production base with socioeconomic benefits for the region, platinum group metals (PGMs) mining company Implats said on Monday.

The proposed transaction opens the way for capitalising on significant synergies as a result of the contiguous nature of the Impala Rustenburg mine and RBPlat’s operating assets, Implats stated in a release to Mining Weekly.

The tangible socioeconomic benefits for communities would include employment security and sustained benefits for the various industries and stakeholders that the mining activities of the greater Rustenburg region support. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

Implats’ announcement of an offer to acquire, in cash and shares, a majority of RBPlats follows Royal Bafokeng Holdings earlier this month accepting R8.6-billion in cash and 8.7% of the shares of Northam Platinum in a transaction that gives Northam 32.8% of RBPlat and opens the way for the Bafokeng community to accelerate into the fast-growing green energy economy with Northam’s help.

The Implats offer amounts to R150 per RBPlat share and comprises a cash amount of R90 (60% of the offer consideration) and 0.30 ordinary shares in Implats (the value of which equates to R60 at the 3-day volume weighted average price of Implats at the close of business on November 24).

It represents a premium of 80% to RBPlat's 30-day volume weighted average price of R83.51 prior to RBPlat and Implats’ joint cautionary announcement on October 27.

Implats currently owns 24.5% of the RBPlat shares in issue, which were acquired on identical terms from existing RBPlat shareholders.

“The overwhelming response and support of these shareholders is particularly validating of our confidence in the value proposition this offer provides for both RBPlat and Implats shareholders,” said Implats CEO Nico Muller.

RBPlat, headed by CEO Steve Phiri, is a mid-sized PGMs producer with mining and concentrating operations contiguous to Implats’ Impala Rustenburg portfolio on the Western Limb of the Bushveld Igneous Complex in South Africa. The size and quality of its mineral reserve has been highlighted, along with a mechanised, Merensky-rich orebody, which Implats views as being aligned with future demand for platinum, nickel and copper.

Implats views the offer as providing a compelling value proposition for RBPlat shareholders “by crystallising inherent equity value at an attractive premium, through the receipt of a combination of cash and high quality, liquid Implats scrip”.

It offers shareholders exposure to a global PGMs portfolio, comprising operating assets, projects and a toll refining business, which is positioned to capture the benefits of the full PGMs value chain through integrated processing facilities, including wholly-owned smelters, as well as base and precious metal refineries.

RBPlat shareholders, Implats added, would also be in line to benefit from a dividend yield underpinned by disciplined capital allocation priorities and a strong balance sheet.

Implats stated in the release that the transaction would:

increase exposure to low-cost, shallow, mechanised assets, and competitive operations through the cycle;

enhance further growth through scaled deployment of the mineral resource base and technical capabilities; and

through broader collaboration, the logical combination of complementary assets and shared infrastructure enable the pursuit of substantial regional growth in the fullness of time.

RBPlat confirmed Implats' offer to acquire all the shares not already held by it and that PSG Capital had been appointed as the independent expert to issue a report on the Implats offer.

To facilitate the offer, RBPlat has entered into a cooperation agreement with Implats, the company stated in a Stock Exchange News Service announcement.

B2Gold, the Canadian company that owns mines in Africa and the Philippines, is interested in acquiring gold assets in Zimbabwe.

The mid-tier gold producer which has mines in Mali, Namibia and the Philippines, has held talks with the government and other officials in the southern African nation “to see if they are ready for us to come in,” said Clive Johnson, CEO at the Vancouver-based company.

“There is really a strong case and we are making that case in Zimbabwe,” Johnson said in a November 24 interview. “We are looking at it as intriguing potential with some advanced projects as well as exploration potential.”

B2Gold weighed buying an idled Zimbabwean gold mine two years ago but wanted authorities to exempt it from a law that forces miners to sell all the metal to a unit of the country’s central bank, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the details.

Zimbabwe desperately needs fresh investment in its key mining sector to reboot a struggling economy. Still, forcing gold miners to sell the bulk of their bullion to the central bank unit, Fidelity Printers and Refiners Ltd., which then pays them back partly in dollars and partly in rapidly depreciating local currency, is unnerving to new investors.

Winston Chitando, the Mines Minister, said that B2Gold has shown interest in investing and is holding talks with privately-owned gold mining firms.

B2Gold would consider buying operating assets in Zimbabwe and also enter into joint ventures and the company could also explore the potential for establishing a milling plant, the CEO said. The miner is also searching for gold in Finland, Uzbekistan and is seeking to build a new mine at the Gramalote project in Colombia with AngloGold Ashanti.

“Its an interesting area for us geologically and that’s what we looking for in the world,” Johnson, who has led the company since it was founded in 2007, said. “We will probably enter the first part of next year a bit more confident to talk more about what we see there as the potential.”

Platinum-group metals (PGMs) are poised to be a very significant underpin in the green hydrogen economy and Sibanye-Stillwater is intent on ensuring that the supply of PGMs is sustainable and that the company is part of the global climate change solution, Sibanye CEO Neal Froneman told a global online conference on Friday.

Addressing attendees in Tokyo, Beijing, Moscow, Johannesburg, London and New York, Froneman said that while PGMs continued to play their long-standing role of cleaning the air of cities through their presence in the autocatalysis systems of the exhausts of internal combustion engine vehicles, the metals would experience a slight change in demand in the medium-to-long-term as they catalysed hydrogen fuel cells and hydrogen-generating electrolysers in the world's advance toward zero-emission.

Speaking at SFA Oxford’s green metals and hydrogen presentation covered by Mining Weekly, Froneman emphasised that the Johannesburg- and New York-listed Sibanye was going all out to fully understand the implications of:

platinum performing its effective catalyst role in proton electrode membrane (PEM) electrolysers and PEM fuel cells;

iridium enabling the production of green hydrogen though electrolysers; and

ruthenium twinning with platinum, also in PEM fuel cells.

The unmatched chemical and physical properties of PGMs make them extremely difficult to substitute, a slide projected on to screens emphasised.

Offering confidence to the global audience was the presentation's next slide, which showed that autocatalyst demand for PGMs is continuing to remain robust as electric vehicles, including fuel cell electric vehicles, take up their positions in the build-up to 2030.

Beyond 2030, green hydrogen was poised to become competitive, with demand beyond Sibanye-Stillwater’s forecast period driven by hard-to-abate industrial applications.

Regional bus, train and truck transport was highlighted, along with residential heating, high-grade heating and steelmaking.

“So, we have significant confidence in the future of the hydrogen economy,” Froneman explained.

IRIDIUM THRIFTING VITAL

Demand for iridium in PEM electrolysers would become a significant requirement beyond 2030 and there was an opportunity for industry collaboration to align iridium demand with supply through thrifting, substitution, and innovative recycling, Froneman emphasised.

PGMs-containing PEM electrolysers were depicted on a slide as representing 70% of Sibanye’s pipeline of projects to 2040.

In describing thrifting of iridium as being vital for cost-reduction and technology sustainability, Froneman recalled the PGM industry’s long history of thrifting and substitution.

“We saw thrifting in autocats, and it is the right thing. We don’t want to be wasteful. We’ve got to get the costs down,” Froneman emphasised, as he displayed a slide showing the cost breakdown for a 1 MW PEM electrolyser moving from full system, to stack, to catalyst coated membrane (CCM).

“The point that needs to be made is that the contribution of iridium and platinum to CCM can be significant, depending on price. But relatively, it’s a small part of the overall costs. Scope for other costs to decrease more with scale-up are real, so it does put iridium and platinum in the spotlight.

“As a good partner, we’d want to make sure that we can produce these metals at the lowest possible cost, with a fair profit. There is a lot of opportunity for the industry to collaborate in aligning with iridium demand,” he said.

Sibanye is one of the biggest producers of iridium.

“We’ve been through the cycle of thrifting. We’ve been part of using substitution to assist the original-equipment manufacturers to reduce their costs, and ensure sustainability of our businesses as well, and we would be happy to be part of recycling and developing open-loop systems with the end-users,” Froneman said.

A specialist mining law firm, which prefers people to paper, has created an outsourced compliance solution for Africa’s mining industry.

NSDV will not rely solely on the paper trail when a client calls with an issue, but instead phone, WhatsApp, or drive there and chat to the officials.

“Our view is that people are behind transactions and the better our relationships, the better our offering to clients who rely on those relationships,” NSDV director and co-founder Lili Nupen states in a release that describes the firm’s contemporary brand of law as being exceptionally focused on relationship building.

NSDV highlights that the global trend towards green energy and sustainable environmental management is placing almost impossible regulatory pressure on mining companies and the bodies that regulate them.

“South African mineral right holders operate within a highly complex legislative environment, and many are looking for credible solutions to ease the compliance and administrative burden in the mining sector,” the firm adds.

From the multitude of municipal bylaws to the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, National Environmental Management Act – “and the various 14 Acts, regulations, and charters in-between to mention a few” – it is extremely complex to navigate, says Nupen.

“That’s why we created a simple compliance solution that removes the complexity for our clients,” she adds.

The law firm’s mineral right management service will track and monitor all reporting obligations, coordinate reporting to all regulatory authorities, assess and manage legal and compliance risks, secure timeous approvals of regulatory applications, and provide legal responses to directives, regulatory appeals, and administrative errors.

Managed will be everything from creating a mineral rights data repository in the initial phase, to regulator and stakeholder relationship strategy development and bi-annual compliance and risk reporting, the firm says in the release to Mining Weekly.

Another offering being launched includes risk consulting and management and obtaining mine closure certificates as an outsourced service.

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy together with leaders from Minerals Council South Africa and organised labour held a MineSafe Conference on November 25 to discuss measures to drive a sustainable improvement in mine health and safety.

The conference was held on the back of a worrying increase in fatalities in the mining industry to 60 in 2020, and to 58, so far this year.

Speaking at a briefing following the conference, Chief Inspector of Mines David Msiza said stakeholders had committed to collaboration and to transforming the culture, with a focus on leadership.

Importantly, in terms of culture, speakers emphasised that workers’ input must be heard and implemented, and they must not be compelled to work under unsafe conditions.

Another important element of culture that was emphasised during the conference was skills development and training of leadership across all levels.

Msiza indicated that stakeholders agreed that an important measure must be to adopt leading practices and technology to prevent the high levels of fall-of-ground (FoG) incidents, as well as technology and machinery incidents.

With regard to FoG incidents, speakers mentioned a FoG action plan, which involves a series of steps and pillars around research and development, the use of technology, skillsets and real-time monitoring, besides others, that should be considered for implementation.

Minerals Council South Africa, through its members, has made a R140-million commitment over the next five years in this regard. A further R6-million has been earmarked for skills development.

With regard to technology and machinery, the industry is adopting a holistic, risk-based approach, with ecosystem readiness for industry-wide adoption by 2023.

Msiza said another major issue was aging infrastructure and a lack of quality mineral reserves, adding that there was a need for a clear programme on how to respond to this.

In terms of collaboration, Msiza said it was acknowledged during the conference that this had been pivotal in the industry recording its lowest ever fatalities in 2019, and that this must be improved upon, especially at mine level.

Others issues raised included mental wellbeing, with programmes needing to be more robust and to cater to workers’ needs.

Speakers emphasised that measures and commitments made during the conference must be implemented and monitored, to ensure that the deterioration does not continue, and to facilitate the industry’s goal of zero harm.

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer unpacks Namibia's plans in the green hydrogen space; platinum imports to China that could reduce the surplus forecast for next year; and Minerals Council South Africa member companies that could deliver up to 3 900MW of renewable energy projects.

Precious and battery metals producer Sibanye-Stillwater says it and labour unions were again unable to reach an agreement on wage increases for employees at Sibanye's South African gold operations.

Sibanye's management and unions the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union, the National Union of Mineworkers, Solidarity and Uasa met again on November 24 to discuss the latest offer made by Sibanye on November 18.

The last offer made to the unions was tabled on the condition that it was accepted by all unions and would have resulted in an increase to Sibanye’s wage bill at its gold operations by R1.4-billion by July 1, 2023, excluding concessions made in respect of non-wage demands.

"This offer is fair and above inflation, taking into account the increase in cost of living. The wage demands tabled by unions amounts to a R2.5-billion increase in our wage bill, well in excess of inflation and unsustainable," JSE- and NYSE-listed Sibanye says.

“It is disappointing that, while the company has increased its offer five times, the unions have not moved significantly from their initial demands. These demands are not sustainable and we will not be intimidated into acceding to above inflation demands that will compromise the sustainability of our gold operations and therefore all our stakeholders.

“We do, however, remain hopeful that a responsible resolution may still be achieved that is in the interests of sustainability for all stakeholders. We appeal to all union leaders to act responsibly and to carefully consider our collective future and the many stakeholders that depend on us,” Sibanye SA Gold operations executive VP Richard Cox says.

Sibanye notes that, given that the offer was not accepted, the company has reverted back to the offer tabled on October 19, which proposed wage increases of R520, R610 and R640 in years one, two and three of the agreement, respectively, for category four to eight employees.

The October 19 offer also set out proposed increases of 4.1%, 4/7% and 4.7% in years one, two and three, respectively, for miners, artisans and officials.

Because the parties could not reach an agreement, a certificate of non-resolution, which will allow parties to consult their constituents to receive a mandate on the way forward, has been requested by organised labour.

The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) is required to establish picketing rules before the certificate of non-resolution may be issued.

The conciliation process has been extended by another two weeks to allow for the finalisation of picketing rules.

The parties will reconvene on December 13 for a final engagement session when a certificate of non-resolution will be issued.

The CCMA process has been extended until December 21 to allow the CCMA commissioners to conduct inspections.

South Africa’s mining industry has surpassed the 300 000 milestone for fully and partially vaccinated employees and contractors.

As the year draws to a close, the Minerals Council South Africa has urged all unvaccinated employees to get the jab to protect their families and friends at the start of the fourth wave of Covid-19 infections.

With a cumulative 300 779 vaccinations, more than two-thirds of the industry’s 450 000 employees and contractors are now fully and partially vaccinated as the sector moves steadily towards its target of 80% vaccination level.

“We have done well in reaching this significant milestone, but we still have some way to go to reach the target we set for ourselves. Like the rest of the country, achieving a stretch target was never going to be easy, but we are working hard with the industry and our stakeholders to get there,” Minerals Council health head Dr Thuthula Balfour said on November 24.

“It is more important than ever for people to be vaccinated as there are growing concerns that the fourth wave of infections is not far off. It is vital employees are vaccinated before going home for the year-end break to keep themselves, their families and friends safe,” she stressed.

The government set a target of 70% vaccinations by year-end and is experiencing the same difficulties as the mining industry in convincing people that Covid-19 remains “a real and present threat, and to have themselves vaccinated especially as the country shows signs of increasing infections”.

The Minerals Council and its members, which account for about 95% of the industry’s workforce, have launched various campaigns during this year to boost vaccination levels, including aligning itself with the national Vooma Vaccination drive initiated by government in October.

Member companies regularly share experiences through meetings at the Minerals Council on effective initiatives and plans that have proved successful to improve vaccination levels, including bringing vaccines to the shaft or workplace instead of relying on employees to visit clinics, giving the day off for those vaccinated on that day and other incentives.

Industry initiatives are driven by mining CEOs and their leadership teams in the interest of saving lives and livelihoods.

Minerals Council CEO Roger Baxter said the industry started preparing for a vaccine roll-out in February this year, using its extensive in-house infrastructure and resources, as well as years of experience in effectively treating tuberculosis and HIV.

There are now 75 sites used by mining companies to vaccinate employees, their dependants and community members.

Baxter acknowledged the leadership role played by organised labour – the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union, the National Union of Mineworkers, Solidarity and UASA – in advocating for vaccinations among employees and supporting the company-based programmes.

“We must continue to be vigilant and practice all the non-medical interventions that we have developed since the start of the pandemic,” he said.