The road ahead: Unearthing a legacy

As South Africa celebrates a generation of freedom, Anglo American acknowledges its deep roots in the country and looks ahead to its contribution in the next 25 years and beyond. Over the next five weeks experience 25 Reasons to Believe with City Press as we explore the economy, job creation, enterprise development, health, land reform, sustainability, education, technology and – most important of all – the communities

For Themba Mkhwanazi, the CEO of Anglo American’s South African iron ore business Kumba Iron Ore, keeping the promise the company makes to the families of its employees is his top priority.

Kumba Iron Ore has been fatality-free for three years and, when you visit their offices, there are visible safety protocols in place – for example, everyone who enters one of their sites, even the corporate offices in Centurion, takes a breathalyser test.

“When people are hurt or when we have fatalities, that’s not just a person – for me, it’s an ancestry that’s been around for generations, but it’s also a descendancy that’s going to go for many years to come and, when you then think of every single one of us and the role we play in our families, for our kids and even in our communities … it is incumbent on us, particularly as leaders, to ensure that everybody goes home safely.

“My mantra is that the result you get is a reflection of your leadership and, therefore, when you start to think about it in that light, you take total accountability – no excuses – and you work passionately and drive it passionately to ensure you achieve zero harm, and it is achievable. It is not easy – there are all sorts of challenges along the way – but it’s that covenant that we have, an unwritten code that says: ‘I give you my loved ones, but I expect you to look after them and return them safely.’”

To fulfil its goals of continuing to impact positively on its host communities and the larger South African economic project, Kumba Iron Ore is also working towards improving its per ton margin, which means that, in this cyclical industry, it can withstand the busts and capitalise on the booms. It can also do what is most important – make a profit so it can live its purpose of reimagining mining to improve people’s lives.

Mkhwanazi’s team is also working hard to achieve their strategic ambition of extending the life of their mines from the current 14 years to beyond 20 years. This is also important for them as they will be able to continue to add jobs and opportunities in the Northern Cape, where the company operates.

“We play a big role in South Africa and in the Northern Cape. We want to continue to play a big role in the prosperity of the community and in the country at large, which is why the life of a mine is important. As an industry, and certainly among the bigger players, we are moving in the right direction around concepts such as shared value and the realisation that we impact on the communities that we operate in, so we have to make sure that long, long after we have gone, we leave a lasting legacy,” Mkhwanazi says.

“I believe the best example of a legacy that mining has left anywhere in the world is the city of Johannesburg, because it came about as a consequence of mining – and there’s no other example, not that I am aware of, so mining has been shown to be impactful and significant.”

High on Anglo American’s list of priorities is not only making mining safer, but also less damaging to the environment so that the effects of the climate crisis can be mitigated.

“For the industry to survive, it has to modernise. Clearly, it has different implications for different parts of the world, but we have to modernise. Mark [Cutifani, Anglo American’s chief executive] likes to say, to get a ton of ore, you have to move 16 times the volume of rock, use 16 times the energy and double the amount of water compared to 100 years ago. What that means is we have to focus more on precision mining and, to be able to do that, we need the technology.

“Our view as a company is that we have to be responsible; we have to be considerate in terms of our approach, and we have to work with all our stakeholders to really determine what it means for us and how we do it. That is the commitment – we take our people along with us. The beauty of it is that the quality of the jobs has increased.”

A great example is at Kolomela iron ore mine, where the drills have been automated and the operators now manage them from the safety of a control room far from the rock face.

Kumba Iron Ore benefited 267 businesses which created 2 700 jobs and provided income for over 16 000 people in 2018. This is in line with Anglo American’s aspiration to create three jobs for every one permanent onsite job by 2025. Over the past three years, Kumba has consistently surpassed its allocated targeted spend on local procurement from R500m to R528m in 2017, and R1 billion to R1.4bn in 2018. Furthermore, Kumba has allocated an ambitious budget of R2bn and R3bn in 2019 and 2020 respectively. Mkhwanazi is confident the company will surpass the target as it continues to empower the economies of its host communities.

“Communities are thriving as a consequence of people being employed by us and the differences that it makes. When our employees come to me and say things like: ‘Because I am employed here, I have had such a significant impact on my family and will continue to do so for generations to come.’ It is about making that difference and it’s not just about our communities, it’s global.”

So, if you are reading this article while stirring your morning coffee, your teaspoon probably has Kumba’s iron ore in it; so do your pots and pans, possibly the car you drive and even the structure holding up your house.