RBM primed to reopen
It was cemented by the release of a further R130-million to trusts established for each of the communities surrounding the mining and smelter operation.
THE signing of an improved trust fund agreement with various stakeholders on Monday has paved the way for the restarting of mining activity at Richards Bay Minerals (RBM).
It was cemented by the release of a further R130-million to trusts established for each of the communities surrounding the mining and smelter operation.
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‘With this agreement, all parties have come together to commit to long-term modernisation of the trusts for the benefit of the host communities,’ said RBM Managing Director Werner Duvenhage.
‘This is a major milestone and the contribution RBM makes to the communities through these funds will be put to achieving its intended purpose, which is to directly support local economic development in the communities.
‘We are grateful for the support and collaboration of the Amakhosi, provincial and national governments, and other stakeholders.’
In 2009, RBM established community trusts for its four host communities to receive dividend payments for the purpose of supporting broad-based community upliftment.
‘With the agreement in place, we believe that, together with visible improvements on the safety and security front, and support from the provincial and national governments and host communities, including reaching an earlier agreement with the Sokhulu Youth Forum, RBM has made good progress on the core issues that have kept our business closed over the past several weeks.
‘Through it all, we remained committed to restarting once the safety situation improves, and we will now begin the process to restart operations,’ said Duvenhage.
