Current Edition >> Archives Section >> Spot Coverage >> March 2002
Background
Located in the Northern Cape province 280 km northwest of Kimberley, the Sishen Mine at Kathu as of November 2001 falls within the ambit of Kumba Resources. The open pit mine produces lump, DRS, DR, coarse sinter and fine ores, totalling some 25,7 million tons per annum. Having ISO 9002 quality standards listing, beneficiation at the mine included crushing, washing and screening, heavy media separation, blending and loading.
After formal approval by Iscor shareholders for the unbundling of Iscor Limited into two independent steel and mining companies, Iscor Limited was listed on 26 November 2001 on the JSE Securities Exchange as the new steel company and Kumba Resources as the new mining entity. With that, Iscor acquired the Industrial Development Corporation’s (IDC) 50% stake in Saldanha Steel, while the IDC acquired 20 million Iscor shares and 10 million shares in Kumba Resources. Iscor will also receive a cash contribution of R250 million from the IDC to cover Saldanha’s operating funding requirements. With this unbundling both Iscor and Kumba now set to exploit their full potential.
Meanwhile Iscor Limited has just signed a Business Assistance Agreement (BAA) with LNM Holdings, the world's fourth largest steel producer, aiming at providing Iscor access to additional technology, marketing and process skills to further enhance it's global competitiveness.
Social responsibility
Since Sishen Iron Ore Mine is an important role-player in the macro-economic environment of South Africa as well as a global participant in exporting iron ore, its mining activities are highly mechanised and automised with hardly any room for the co-existence of small miners. Therefore the focus is to develop unemployed people to become fully-equipped autonomous entrepreneurs by creating SME businesses and services within the sphere of influence of the mine. This is also one of Sishen's social responsibility strategic goals, namely the promotion of black economic empowerment. One of the Divisions of Sishen Iron Ore Mine is Community Development focussing on social responsibility initiatives. The structure of social responsibility management at the Mine is illustrated in the diagram below.
Social investment
Internally a Social Investment Committee manages all issues concerning social investment within the sections of Sishen Mine. Externally within the immediate sphere of influence of the Mine specific social investment issues are managed by the Kathu Local Development Forum. All important issues forwarded from the above mentioned Committee and Forum are handled at the Social Responsibility on executive level. Projects identified to be funded are forwarded through Kumba Resources to the Iscor Foundation at Corporate Head Office. Sishen's present involvement with social investment opportunities is depicted in the diagram below.
Local economic development
The achievements of the socio-economic objectives of Sishen Mine is primarily being driven through an internal transformation process aimed at transforming leadership and personal empowerment, at transforming operational strategies and at establishing SME's.
Most communities within the direct sphere of influence of Sishen Mine are seriously hampered by poverty due to the high unemployment rate. Apart from the Mine's activities, there are little secondary economic activities which can create job opportunities. As a result the creation of SME's is a high priority with Sishen, being done in the following ways:
• Firstly, to transfer existing services at the Mine to local black empowerment groups, for instance the laundry washing and mending overalls is already being operated successfully as a closed corporation. Other SME's already active at the mine are in the construction and cleaning sectors.
• Secondly, also outside the mining locality SME's are being promoted by utilizing of local residents. This is being implemented through especially two large projects, viz. a tannery at Deben and a chicken farm at Dingleton. Both these projects have already achieved astonising results. In total already some 16 SME's are already up and running both inside and outside Sishen Mine.
• In the third instance, external empowerment groups from outside are also being considered for contractual delivery of spare parts and special services directly linked to the primary activities of the Mine.
In order to ensure that SME's are successful, the necessary skills training and in-service training are being provided through the Division Community Development of the Mine in co-operation with the Tshipi Skills Training Centre. All training is accredited and SME's are being supported until they are able to function on their own. The Tshipi Skills Training Centre has also being honoured by the National Productivity Institute (NPI) for its role to create job opportunities and to combat poverty.
To do this skills development, on the job training, entrepreneurial courses and small grants are being provided. To ensure that small businesses become self-sustaining, they are taken through an incubation process and monitored to end up mostly as closed co-operations whereby all the workers are shareholders.
By developing people who were up till now marginalised in the real South African business environment, Sishen Mine strives to supply the higher echelons of the economic stratosphere with people well-equipped with business skills and knowing already the taste of success.
Examples of new SME's
Some random examples of SME's put on their feet as a result of the guidance and support of the Sishen Mine:
• Hair Magic: Hair Magic is a current well-established SME that expand their services to include a hair product shop.
• Something Cool: Is a new SME that focus on processing vegetables. It provides jobs for five previously unemployed people and is currently negotiating a contract with Royal Foods to provide all there frozen vegetables.
• Elite Laundry: It renders a laundry service to Sishen Mine where overalls of employees are washed on a daily basis. The SME was under the supervision of the SME consultant, but is currently in the process of being handed over to the four people being employed by the SME.
• Dingleton Needlework Project: Is a community driven project where women are manufacturing bedding and curtains for the local market.
Reskilling and training: Examples
• Training for Department of Public Roads: A contract was finalized with this Department for RPL testing of 50 plumbers of the Northern Cape. The idea is to get this people to a National Artisan Certificate.
• Training for Correctional Services: A contract was finalized through the Department of Labour to train 24 students for Correctional Services in Kuruman.
• Leanerships: School leavers with high potential are trained according to a whole syllabus and are then placed for on-the-job training at any employer in the country. He/she remains a Thsipi student through this period and then gets the opportunity to become an artisan after completing the national Article 28 examinations.
Latest SME's established
• Rural tannery and leather crafts to be established at Deben.
• Community Chicken farming project for Dingleton
• ISO 14 000 recycling SME.
Way ahead
Sishen Mine, especially its Division Community Development, is convinced it has struck the right chord as regards socio-economic development within its sphere of influence. As a matter of fact, the road travelled so far constitutes already a proven track record and an example worth following - not so much for its perceived magnitude, but for its practical effectiveness.
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