GIFT NDOLWANE
JOHANNESBURG– ANGLO American, the mining firm, invested more than US$124 million in Corporate Social Investment expenditure in the past year.
During the period, Anglo American invested $13,6 million on health-related community programmes and $22,4 million on education and diversifying workforce development training.
The figures are disclosed in the company’s 15th annual Sustainability Report alongside its 2015 Annual Report, entitled “Driving Change, Defining Our Future.”
Anglo American focuses on leveraging the value chains and skills within the business, through initiative such as local procurement, and on building the capacity of host communities and local government. Anglo American seeks to ensure that the benefits it generates flow more directly to communities around its operations.
Through its Socio-Economic Assessment Toolbox (SEAT), the company partners with local institutions to strengthen supply chain capacity and maximise the socio-economic benefits in the regions in which it operates.
Sir John Parker, Chairman of Anglo American, said the need for extractive companies to make a positive, sustainable contribution to society was greater than ever.
“We will only be able to do this effectively, however, so long as we can maintain trusting and effective relationships with our wide-ranging and often-conflicting stakeholder base. It is only by being ‘partners in the future’ that mining companies will be able to secure and maintain their licences to operate, thus laying the foundation for prosperity that endures beyond the lives of their operations.”
Meanwhile, in 2015, three employees and three contractors lost their lives in work-related activities at operations managed by Anglo American.
“Whilst this is the lowest number of workplace deaths in a full production year, any loss of life is unacceptable,” the company said.
Anglo American is based in South Africa and United Kingdom. It is the world’s largest producer of platinum, with around 40 percent of world output, as well as being a major producer of diamonds, copper, nickel, iron ore and metallurgical and thermal coal.
