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| Stitch Wise
provides employment to 43 paraplegics, who produce raincoats and
backfill bags for AngloGold. |
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|
 |
W Mahne, an NQF1 facilitator,
helping one of the NQF 1 students.
|
 |
L Cardoso and S M Radebe busy with their
computer training.
|
 |
| A group of ABET
students busy with group work. |
| |
| |
|
|
 |
| Studying
privately in her spare time saw Maria Thomas realise her dream of
becoming a winding engine driver at AngloGold?s Mponeng Mine.
However, she has her sights set on becoming a foreman or manager. |
| |
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 |
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Case Studies
South Africa |
| |
| 7.1
Providing jobs at Stitch Wise |
Stitch Wise is an organisation
established at AngloGold?s West Wits operations in 1996 to provide
employment to 43 former underground employees who are paraplegics.
Originally, AngloGold commissioned Stitch Wise to produce waterproof
suits for use underground for the company?s South African
operations. In its infancy, Stitch Wise received a management fee
for this and AngloGold supplied all material and equipment.
Nowadays, the operation has grown in scope, and also produces
backfill bags for use underground. (Backfilling is a process whereby
tailings ? which is the residue that remains from the process
when gold has been removed the the ore ? is pumped underground and
placed in large bags and used as support in the stoping areas).
AngloGold accommodates and cares for the paraplegics, and they
receive full employment benefits, while those who qualify for
additional disability grants receive these from Rand Mutual, a
mutual insurance company that underwrites workers' compensation for
mining industry employees injured in the course and scope of their
working environment.
Productivity improvements among the disabled at Stitch Wise has been
phenomenal; at inception Stitch Wise used to produce six raincoats a
day, the operation is presently producing around 10 times as many in
a day.
Caregivers associated with the programme are full of praise for the
efforts of Stitch Wise; while other similar operations attest to
serious challenges in maintaining morale, Stitch Wise?s employees
are full of enthusiasm and initiative. Stitch Wise is currently
investigating the viability of producing knee and arm protection for
underground mineworkers, as well as shopping bags bearing the
AngloGold logo. |
| |
| 7.2 Adult Basic
Education and Training for South Africa region |
|
AngloGold?s Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) programme
started in 1993 as a result of its then literacy programmes and as
one of the company?s strategic objectives to improve the literacy
level amongst its workforce. As ABET grew in popularity, there was
recognition of the need to create preparedness for a 21st Century
workforce, which would address both literacy and numeracy, and would
aim at a culture in which employees, working as integrated teams,
will understand the challenges facing the mining industry and also
allow them to transfer their skills to their working and home
environments.
The ABET programme offers basic reading, writing and calculating
skills; business skills; communication skills; problem solving
skills; report writing; and basic health and safety. Natural science
was also added to the curriculum in 2003. The programme leads to
improved understanding of mining terminology and procedures, health
and safety, HIV/AIDS issues, and financial and business principles.
ABET bases its curricula on those of the Department of Education and
aligns itself especially with the local colleges and relevant Sector
Education Training Authorities (SETA). It employs a three-pronged
approach to the provision of ABET to our workforce, including:
- A full-time programme: students will attend ABET classes on a
daily basis during their normal working hours.
- A part-time programme, which is now the most popular, is
conducted afterhours.
- Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), is an assessment of
previous experience and learning towards achieving a recognised
level of education.
Full-time programmes are presented at centralised venues at the
West Wits and Vaal River operations, and part-time programmes are
presented at individual mines at the West Wits, Vaal River and ERGO
operations. Full-time programmes, which are generally for candidates
who have been identified for career advancement, are conducted over
a period of 16 weeks, and part-time programmes over 8 months for
which students receive a monetary incentive on successful
completion. The programme offers different levels, from pre-ABET for
illiterate students, ABET 1 equivalent to Grade 3 (three years of
formal education), ABET 2 equivalent to Grade 5 and ABET 3
equivalent to Grade 7. Students receive a certificate on completion
of the ABET level and this forms part of their overall career
development and their portfolio towards the registered National
Qualifications Framework (NQF) level 1 qualification.
Facilitators are recruited from the local environment, either in a
full-time or parttime capacity. Unemployed facilitators with a Grade
12 and an education certificate are eligible to teach, and in-house
training is also available for these facilitators.
The new qualification at NQF level 1, ?Introductory Certificate to
the Mining and Minerals Sector? (ICMMS) was registered with the
South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) during 2003. This
qualification is nationally recognised thus making it portable for
our workforce. The qualification covers a variety of modules, and
candidates must submit a portfolio of evidence on each in order to
be awarded the qualification.
AngloGold ABET centres are ISO 9002 certified, a requirement for
accreditation through the Mining Qualification Authority (MQA), and
accredited as a training provider.
Another highlight of 2003 was ABET?s 10 year anniversary celebration
held at the West Wits Village Club, where it could boast that more
than 32,000 employees have attended ABET since its inception. Many
of these students have gone on to become miners, shift overseers,
artisans and supervisors in the industry. In 2003 a total of 4,156
students successfully completed the ABET programmes.
Further highlights for 2003 included Helen Janneke being awarded the
prestigious award for promoting literacy from Pretoria Technikon.
This award was presented to Helen in September 2003.
2003 also saw the introduction of an Assessors and Moderators Course
in all training and education departments, an MQA requirement, to
become qualified assessors and moderators. All ABET facilitators
will undergo this training, thus enhancing their own skills and
those of the ABET students.
Currently, 44% of all South Africa region employees have an
education level of ABET 3 or above. AngloGold?s aim is to increase
this percentage through the part-time and full-time ABET processes.
?We are going through a process of renewal,? says Ian Heyns, head of
Human Resources, South Africa region. ?We are in the process of
renewing the quality of our facilities, facilitators, programme
content and systems, so that there will be alignment of those
elements and rollout in 2004 with the aim of enhancing ABET interest
and thus improving the overall education level of our workforce.
Indeed, AngloGold intends to offer all employees the opportunity to
become functionally literate by the year 2005.?
|
SA Lebitsa and BB Katong completing their perception assessments on
computer. |
S van Rensburg, full-time coordinator at the Vaal River Operations,
handing SM Lefosa his statement of results. |
| |
| 7.3 Employment Equity in South
Africa |
As part of its broader
human resource strategy, AngloGold subscribes to a philosophy of
Employment Equity within the company. In the context of its South
African base, this involves developing human resources strategies
aimed at redressing past inequalities, and it is within this
context, rather than purely to comply with legislation, that
AngloGold developed its Employment Equity plans.
Current situation
AngloGold?s South African Employment Equity programme covers all
employees in its South Africa region, corporate office in
Johannesburg and the following disciplines: Mining, Engineering,
Metallurgy, Human Resources, Mineral Resources Management, Finance,
Occupational Health and Safety, etc. AngloGold is currently at 31%
for historically disadvantaged South Africans (HDSAs) in management
positions, of which 13% are women (including AngloGold Health
Services). As at December 2003, the women constitution of the total
workforce was 6%.
Ian Heyns, head of Human Resources for the South Africa region
concedes that it is unlikely that AngloGold will meet the overall
Employment Equity target set in 1999 by the end of the year, saying
that more focus must be placed on retention of HDSAs. One unintended
consequence to the extensive training and development programmes
employees are exposed to is that many of AngloGold?s employees are
being targeted for recruitment (by other companies) at different
stages of their careers. In fact, retention of talent has been
identified as one of the strategic issues that the South Africa
region will focus on, to enable the company to meet its Employment
Equity objectives. Other issues are facilitating the employment of
women on the mines, accelerating progress towards achieving targets
and improving communication with all employees regarding Employment
Equity issues.
Admittedly there are challenges in employing women into underground
positions; plans have been drawn up to facilitate the process of
employing women on the mines.
?Black male? advancement has been witnessed in placements including
HR managers, financial managers, section managers and section
engineers. Some notable appointments in 2003 were the appointments
of Mathews Nzimande as Section Manager at Savuka; Sicelo Ntuli as
Section Engineer at Mponeng; Abraham Leeuw as Senior Human Resources
officer at Moab Khotsong and Butiki Loliwe as Human Resources
Manager at Corporate Office.
Butiki, who joined AngloGold in 1997 as a management trainee says
that although measures to identify and eliminate barriers to
Employment Equity have been put in place, it is unfortunate that the
numbers show a slow progress towards achieving these targets.
AngloGold South Africa region has committed R66 million in the 2004
budget cycle towards the development of talent, through various
schemes such as the bursaries, learnership programmes and management
trainee schemes. The region spends 5.2% of its payroll on training
and development of employees, and has 104 students at technikons and
universities on bursaries, 73% of whom are previously disadvantaged.
The company Employment Equity implementation process is based on the
following steps: |
| |
|
| • |
Eliminate barriers and remove unfair
discrimination; |
| • |
Set up and maintain governance structures; |
| • |
Monitoring and reporting procedures; |
| • |
Supportive environment for Employment
Equity; and |
| • |
Achieve and maintain representivity of
designated groups. |
|
Employment equity is monitored and evaluated at Board level,
regional level and at business unit level, with senior management
and committee representatives meeting every quarter to discuss
equity progress. AngloGold has submitted its third Employment Equity
report to the Department of Labour. The company has also published
the Employment Equity reports on the internet and on the notice
boards at the business units.
Progress has been made in building a supportive environment for
Employment Equity, partly by defining it as a key business driver
for all business units. Focus has also been placed on mentoring and
coaching, monitoring of graduates and diplomates as important
aspects of the Employment Equity programme, and these measures are
being expanded to cover all employees on training and development
paths.
The company has set in motion processes to re-plan targets, which
have been signed off by heads of disciplines. The company has also
entrenched career paths to accelerate the development of designated
employees who have potential to advance further in their careers. |
| |
Our workforce profile
is reflected in the table below:
|
| Workforce
profile |
| MALE |
|
|
|
African |
Coloured |
Indian |
White |
40,418 |
195 |
20 |
4,981
|
| |
|
|
|
| FEMALE |
|
|
|
African |
Coloured |
Indian |
White |
772 |
32 |
11 |
732 |
|
| TOTAL = 47,161
AngloGold recruited 5,815 employees during 2003. The race
and gender split of these employees is reflected in the
table below:
|
| Recruitment |
| MALE |
|
|
|
African |
Coloured |
Indian |
White |
4,558 |
26 |
3 |
764 |
| |
|
|
|
| FEMALE |
|
|
|
African |
Coloured |
Indian |
White |
311 |
13 |
1 |
139 |
|
| TOTAL = 5,815
During 2003, 1,452 employees were promoted into different
levels. The race and gender split of these employees is
shown in the table below:
|
| Promotion |
| MALE |
|
|
|
| African |
Coloured |
Indian |
White |
| 1,050 |
8 |
1 |
234 |
| |
|
|
|
| FEMALE |
|
|
|
| African |
Coloured |
Indian |
White |
| 62 |
4 |
1 |
92 |
|
| TOTAL = 1,452 |
|
| |
| |
| 7.4 Meeting the requirements
of the Mining Charter |
The Broad Based Socio-economic
Empowerment Charter for the South African Mining Industry and its
supplementary scorecard, which were developed in line with the new
Mineral & Petroleum Resources Development Act, were finalised in
early 2003.
In terms of the charter, South African mining companies are required
to create an enabling environment for historically disadvantaged
South Africans (HDSAs). AngloGold does not consider the
implementation of the Charter to be an isolated endeavor, but rather
an element of its already broad social responsibility initiatives
undertaken in southern Africa.
A Mining Charter Steering Committee has been established to lead and
direct the management and reporting in line with the charter
requirements. The various undertakings set out in the Charter cover
a fairly wide range of specialist areas and, in order to involve the
necessary key personnel, specialist sub-committees have been
established to cover the following: |
| |
|
| • |
Human Resource Development and Employment
Equity; |
| • |
Social responsibility undertakings; |
| • |
Housing and living conditions; |
| • |
Procurements; |
| • |
Ownership and joint ventures; and |
| • |
Beneficiation. |
|
| |
In June 2003, a team from AngloGold
met with the Deputy Director General ? Minerals Services to begin
establishing a common understanding of the charter and scorecard?s
requirements. Subsequently, specialist subcommittees have held a
number of meetings with counterparts from the department in further
pursuit of this goal. By the end of 2003, common understandings had
largely been reached on what would be required of AngloGold in this
respect of its applications for new order mineral rights in terms of
the Act.
The discussion below is a summary overview of AngloGold?s response
to the Charter. Many of the areas covered are also covered elsewhere
in this report. In these cases, the relevant page numbers are
referred to.
|
| Scorecard for
the Broad Based Socio-economic Empowerment Charter for the South African
Mining Industry |
| |
| Human
Resource Development |
| |
| Has the company offered every employee the opportunity to be functionally literate and numerate by the year 2005 and are employees being trained?
Yes, AngloGold has been providing ABET programmes for its employees for the past 10 years during which time, some 30,000 employees have successfully completed one, or more of the ABET programmes. Approximately 45% of its employees have now achieved an ABET 3, or better, educational qualification. AngloGold provides and encourages full-time and part-time access to ABET 1, 2 and 3 programmes. Full-time classes are also being offered to those wishing to achieve the newly registered, NQF Level 1 qualification, National Certificate: Introduction to the Mining and Minerals Sector. (See page L8)
Has the company implemented career paths for HDSA employees including skills development plans?
Yes, AngloGold has long established career paths for identified individuals within the various disciplines. Strict monitoring and control of those on development programmes is achieved through mentoring and performance management. Some 80% of AngloGold?s Technikon and University bursars are currently HDSAs, as are 60% of the Management Trainees. (See page L7-L9)
Has the company developed systems through which empowerment groups can be mentored?
Yes, mentorship, coaching, counselling and performance management programmes are in place for all graduates, diplomates and other employees identified as having the potential to advance within the organisation. |
| |
| Employment
Equity |
| |
|
Has the company published its employment equity plan and reported on its annual progress in meeting that plan?
Yes, the company has published its plan and reports on annual progress. (See page L5
and the Annual Financial Statements)
Has the company established a plan to achieve a target for HDSA participation in management of 40% within five years and is implementing the plan?
Yes, the plan to achieve the target is in place. As at December 31 2003 that number stood at 30%, defining management as from C Upper level on the Patterson scale. Achieving the target of 40% HDSAs in management in five years remains a challenge.
Has the company identified a talent pool and is it fast tracking it?
Yes, the company continuously identifies talented employees and gives them the opportunity for accelerated development. (See page L7-L9)
Has the company established a plan to achieve the target for women participation in mining of 10% within the five years and is
it implementing the plan?
The employment of women in the operations is a relatively new initiative and progress in this area is being made. Currently, 6% of the company?s employees are women. (See page L7) |
| |
| Migrant
labour |
| |
| Has the company subscribed to government and industry agreements to ensure non-discrimination against foreign migrant labour?
AngloGold does not discriminate against foreign migrant labour. The company is party to a number of industry agreements that embrace this commitment, including the wage agreements of 1991 and 1995. |
| |
| Mine
community and rural development |
| |
| Has the company co-operated in the formulation of integrated development plans and is the company co-operating with government in the implementation of these plans for communities where mining takes place and for major labour-sending areas? Has there been effort on the side of the company to engage the local mine community and major labour sending area communities? (Companies will be required to cite a pattern of consultation, indicate money expenditures and show a plan).
The company is, and has been involved for many years, in a number of development projects in mining communities and in areas from which it draws its labour, both through its normal operational activities and through the work of the AngloGold Fund. (See the case study in the community section of this report.) Considerable work has been done on a plan to ensure safe drinking water and effective sanitation in significant labour-sending areas, and implementation has begun. The company is also developing programmes to extend access to healthcare to employees and their dependents in rural areas. Community consultation is part of the implementation process in all cases. |
| |
| Housing
and living conditions |
| |
|
For company provided housing has the mine, in consultation with stakeholders established measures for improving the standard of housing, including the upgrading of the hostels, conversion of hostels to family units and promoted home ownership options for mine employees? Companies will be required to indicate what they have done to improve housing and show a plan to progress the issue over time and is implementing the plan?
The high-density accommodation is undergoing extensive upgrading and maintenance to improve living conditions in general and additional projects to reduce density, improve privacy and to create family units are being considered. AngloGold has offered its workers a number of alternative accommodation opportunities but the uptake has not been very good. As a result, AngloGold has commissioned an independent survey of worker?s accommodation preferences jointly with all stakeholders.
For company provided nutrition has the mine established measures for improving the nutrition of mine employees? Companies will be required to indicate what they have done to improve nutrition and show a plan to progress the issue over time and is implementing the plan?
The nutritional standards in AngloGold?s high-density accommodation are in line with the standards set by the World Health Organisation and COMRO. A move to enhance employee?s health through nutrition is also successfully underway.
|
| |
| Procurement |
| |
|
Has the mining company given HDSAs preferred supplier status?
Yes, AngloGold is progressing well in its policy of awarding preferred supplier status to HDSAs. All contracts are awarded to suppliers offering the best price and quality, but substantial assistance is provided to BEE suppliers to assist them in winning contracts. During 2003, 10,85% of procurement was from HDSAs and this percentage is planned to increase to 30% by 2012.
Has the mining company identified current level of procurement from HDSA companies in terms of capital goods, consumables and services?
Yes. For 2003, the levels were R19,4 million (1,7%), R247 million (13,37%) and R100,3 million (25,1%) for the procurement from HDSA companies of capital goods, consumables and services respectively.
Has the mining company indicated a commitment to a progression of procurement from HDSA companies over a
three to five year time frame in terms of capital goods, consumables and services and to what extent has the commitment been implemented?
AngloGold has set overall BEE procurement targets of 20% by 2007 and 30% by 2012. The targeted percentages for the three categories are 5%, 26% and 38% for 2007, and 10%, 41% and 38% for 2012 respectively.
|
| |
| Ownership
and joint ventures |
| |
| Has the mining company achieved HDSA participation in terms of ownership for equity or attributable units of production of 15 percent in HDSA hands within 5 years and 26 percent in 10 years?
According to the mining charter, ?the continuing consequences of previous deals would be included in calculating such credits/offsets in terms of market share as measured by attributable units of production.? Since 1998 AngloGold has carried out three such transactions, and we will include them in our mining licence applications when they are lodged. Using 2003 data,
AngloGold estimates that HDSA participation stands at 24%, although, we would expect the Department of Minerals and Energy to carry out its own assessment when it considers those applications. |
| |
| Benefication |
| |
|
Has the mining company identified its current level of beneficiation?
AngloGold has a 25% investment in OroAfrica, South Africa?s largest
gold jewellery manufacturer. This company beneficiates some 120,000
oz (4 tonnes) of fine gold annually into 200,000 oz of finished gold
jewellery product, of which some 70% is exported. AngloGold has
recently commenced a further study of the gold business downstream
from the mine, and will be informed by this study of the extent to
which it is both possible and profitable to further beneficiate our
product. The precise level of beneficiation will be calculated once
the government?s methodology has been clarified. In addition, the
company is actively involved in financing the development of
jewellery design and related skills in SA.
Has the mining company established its base line level of beneficiation and indicated the extent that this will have to be grown in order to qualify for an offset?
See above.
|
| |
| Reporting |
| |
| Has the company reported on an annual basis its progress towards achieving its commitments in its annual report?
This reports forms part of AngloGold?s Report to Society 2003.
PricewaterhouseCoopers, auditors of AngloGold?s Report to Society,
has been asked to conduct an audit in these areas as from the 2004
financial year, by which time clear benchmarks should be available. |
|
| |
| 7.5 Developing women in mining at Mponeng |
Mining has traditionally been a man?s
world but all this is changing. With the recent introduction of the
Mining Charter and the recommended Scorecard, mining companies will
henceforth be required to ensure that women constitute 10% of the
workforce by the year 2008. While this may seem a daunting task it
is encouraging to note that many women are already making
significant inroads and are even occupying positions underground,
something that was unheard of in the past.
Maria Thomas, who hails from the Northern Cape, decided to move into
the mining industry soon after she left school. In 1977 she moved to
the Free State where she was employed at Matjhabeng mine?s Survey
Department as a printing machine operator, a position she held for
23 years. She met her husband, also a miner, at Matjhabeng mine and
the couple went on to have three children. Once her
children were old enough to look after themselves, Maria?s thoughts
turned to her career and, realising that matric is the key to
advancement, she studied privately in her spare time. When AngloGold
sold Matjhabeng in 2000, Maria accepted a transfer to Mponeng Mine,
where she heard that
there was a position vacant for an engine-winding driver, a position
that carries high responsibility. Armed with her hard earned matric,
she first trained as an onsetter before qualifying as a winder
driver in October 2003. Although she was initially apprehensive
about working in a predominantly male environment, she says that she
now almost forgets that she is a woman, when she realises that she
is quite capable of competing on an equal footing. Maria, not
content to rest on her laurels, has every intention of furthering
her career, and already has her sights set on becoming a foreman or
manager.
Gladys Motseki who is also employed at Mponeng Mine, has been
successful in developing her career and is currently employed as a
miner. Born in Port Elizabeth, she later moved to Lesotho with her
parents. There she met and married her husband, a migrant mine
worker, and the two relocated to Carletonville, where she worked at
a local Building Society. Following
the birth of her first child, she left the bank and opened her own
business selling beer and clothes to mine workers in the hostel, but
keeping an eye open for employment on the mines. As luck would have
it, Tau Tona had a vacancy and Gladys found herself competing
against 10 white women and one white male in the qualifying aptitude
test. To her delight and surprise she discovered that she?d come out
tops, and accepted the job in the mine?s Time Office, responsible
for paying the daily- and monthly-paid employees. Three years later
when the Time Office was centralised, Gladys opted not to move, and
applied to Mponeng mine where vacancies existed for onsetters. She
underwent six months training prior to going before the Board of
inspectors and, once again, she passed with flying colours,
outstripping her two companions who both failed first time round.
After three years in the job, she decided to embark on the Learner
Miner Course and in 2001 gained her Blasting Certificate, which
would take her to the stope face, no small accomplishment for the
diminutive single mother-of-three. Indeed the most resistance she
probably had at that stage was from her children who worried about
her safety, since she was now in the front-line, so to speak.
Responsible for the daily tasks of the stope crew she found herself
supervising and leading 17 male colleagues. She also earned the respect of management
who saw her potential as a trainer, and in October 2002 Gladys was
temporarily seconded to the underground training center, where she
is currently training learner miners. Gladys, however, remains
ambitious and aspires to become a shift overseer ? an accomplishment
Mponeng?s Senior HR Manager Peter Lombard has no doubt she will
achieve.
In line with AngloGold?s commitment to meeting its social
responsibility, of which employment of women is one, Mponeng has
started a programme to meet the Charter?s 10% target. Of the
6,000-strong workforce, 3% are currently women and approximately a
sixth of that number work underground. However, not all are in such
challenging positions as Gladys. Minimum requirements for selection
are aptitude proficiency and physical stamina, as well as education.
Others may work in less demanding areas, for example, as locomotive
drivers, or in the haulages, pumps or maintenance sections. But all
have to acclimatise themselves to a new type of work environment,
where they will have to contend with shift work (the mine is
operational 24 hours a day), working at depths of up to 3
kilometres, and with being subjected to humid temperatures of up to
27?C. One constraint, however, is that in the case of pregnant
women, they may not work underground for the period of the pregnancy
and are redeployed to surface jobs in the interim. The issue of
safety is addressed through a number of mine safety initiatives
which require that employees work according to set standards and
which stipulate that each employee takes responsibility for his or
her own safety. |
| |
|
| After gaining her
Blasting Certificate in 2001, Gladys Motseki was responsible for
marking the rock face, to advise the underground team?s driller
where to drill the holes for the explosives before blasting. During
this time Gladys supervised 17 male colleagues. |
| |
Skills training is offered over various periods
depending on the job category. AngloGold?s ?New Era Artisans?
programme is currently training 23 women to become apprentices,
three to become engineers and two are at university. Degreed women
working underground are still few and far between with the current
situation being two geologists and one Occupational Safety and
Health Officer ? but training programmes and targeted recruitment
are expected to redress this situation.
The process of introducing and assimilating women into such a
traditionally male-dominated industry has been a gradual process and
one that is ongoing. One challenge for the future, according to
Peter Lombard, is the provision of accommodation to meet the new
demands. This includes toilets, change houses, and most important
accommodation, previously designed as single-sex residences.
According to Lombard a far greater challenge will be the
normalisation of the workforce in terms of the Employment Equity
Act, which stipulates that the workforce should reflect the same
demographics of the area. ?There is a lot to do in normalising the
mining ratio, but I am very positive that we will make progress in
achieving this,? says Lombard. No small task, but one which is
achievable through commitment to Employment Equity. Each mine has
its own Employment Equity Committee, represented by organised labour
and management, and the Steering Committee meets every quarter. At
the same time ongoing audits take place, in terms of the Scoreboard,
which monitor progress and indicate areas of development. Although
the challenges ahead are daunting they are not insurmountable and
the mining industry can look forward with confidence to having many
more Gladys Motsekis and Maria Thomases in their ranks. |
| |
| 7.6 Ergo – Planning
for Closure at Ergo |
Ergo?s history goes back to the
1950s and 60s when Anglo American Corporation of South Africa Ltd
pioneered technology to re-treat old gold mine slimes dams and sands
in order to recover residual gold and uranium, as well as pyrite for
the production of sulphuric acid. Following this, the East Rand Gold
and Uranium Company (Ergo) was formed, initially acquiring rights to
19 slimes dams containing some 378 million tonnes of material on the
East Rand. It was subsequently merged into AngloGold in June 1998.
The Ergo operation plant near Brakpan was commissioned in 1977 and
production of gold, uranium and sulphuric acid commenced early in
1978 with a treatment capacity of over 1.5 million tonnes of slime
per month. In 1985, a new carbon-in-leach (CIL) plant was completed,
the largest of its kind in the world at that time. Ergo currently
reclaims slimes from dumps dispersed over a 1,500 km2 area 35
km east of Johannesburg.
The operational life of the plant was originally planned for 15
years but was extended to 25 years when the CIL process was
discovered. From the outset the Ergo operation was extremely
profitable as a result of the relatively high gold content of the
earlier slimes dams. As Ergo approaches the end of its life the
profitability of the operation has declined. This is because the
slimes dams that are still available for treatment have a much
reduced grade, due to the improved treatment processes introduced as
mining advanced. This, and the resultant loss in profit, led to a
decision some four years ago to close the operation. The closure
date is December 2004.
The plant currently employs 850 full-time staff and about the same
number of contractors, all of whom are affected by the impending
closure. Preparation for plant closure, which has precipitated a
retrenchment programme in February/March 2005, started at the same
time as the decision to close was made. An annual ?road show?
informs small groups in workplace areas on plant closure
developments and its implication for employees. One-on-one
interviews were also held to determine the level of understanding of
what the plant closure would mean to individual employees. Previous
psychometric testing, as part of the Employment Equity programme,
has been taken into account to determine applicability for training.
Employees also have access to two professional psychologists
currently counselling in areas of HIV/AIDS and alcohol abuse.
Employee length of service ranges from 25 years to new appointments
(although these are obviously kept to a minimum). Unlike other
AngloGold mines with a high migrant labour force, most Ergo
employees live in local towns. So one of the first options will be
to try and place employees with East Rand companies who may require
similar skills. Impala Platinum has already recruited a number of
Ergo employees so there may be an opportunity for future
redeployment of more Ergo personnel. It is also envisaged that a
small number will be redeployed to other AngloGold operations ?
those with managerial skills and operational/engineering
competencies in particular.
A skills training programme has been implemented, in consultation
with unions, as part of Ergo?s Social Plan. A questionnaire was
circulated to employees to determine individual preferences at plant
closure e.g. transfer or additional skills training, since many will
not find alternative employment within the East Rand. Of 900
questionnaires circulated, 729 were returned. 349 have already
received training in specific areas, ranging from art and crafts and
building and construction to clothing and textiles and manufacturing
and engineering. Training courses are being run through various
institutions, including technical colleges and University of South
Africa (UNISA). Carpentry classes, which formed part of building and
construction, were run in conjunction with the Department of Labour,
while manufacturing and engineering trainees attended South African
Paper and Pulp Industry (SAPPI) for trade test training. The
majority of employees (127) chose driving instruction in the
transport sector and this is being organised through local driving
schools. The competency success rate in the skills training
programme, for which candidates receive certificates, is running at
almost 100%.
However, since courses accommodate 24 people at a time, sometimes
for up to six weeks at a time, Ergo does not envisage that all of
the remaining 380 employees will undergo skills training by the end
of the year. As a contingency measure, they will receive a voucher
to enable them to complete their skills training preference in a
three-month period post retrenchment. Participation in Department of
Labour sponsored training will be encouraged.
A handful of employees have expressed interest in starting a small
business and they will attend workshops with AngloGold?s Small and
Medium Enterprises Development Initiative (SMEDI). (See case study
on SMEDI in the community section of this report). They are also
likely to attend training courses at the Springs Chamber of Commerce
and Industry, which runs a Business Linkage Centre, linking small
and big businesses.
Although most employees have come to terms with the plant closure
and its implications, from counselling sessions with individual
workers, it has emerged that many are most concerned with financial
issues, especially debt. Ergo has signed a contract with Edutouch, a programme that offers financial guidance and business
advice. Edutouch machines will be based at an information centre in
an effort to assist with financial planning. Joe Mosehle, Social
Plan/Employment Equity Officer at Ergo, who celebrated 25 years
service at the plant last year, will make family visits offering
information and advice, to help combat insecurity fears. He says
that there is a perceptible difference in employee attitudes to
those who have completed the skills training programme and those who
haven?t. ?Our challenge is to train people and allow them to
practice their newly acquired skills.? |
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