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Business Report writes that according to the Minerals Council SA (MCSA), mining companies in the country spent about R4.9 billion on social development programmes in 2023, in addition to tax and fiscal payments amounting to R135bn.
The MCSA (previously called the Chamber of Mines) also claimed in April that South African mineworkers were the highest-paid industrial workers in the country, although labour unions disagreed with this. Mining is a key economic activity for SA, although there has been a fall in prices of some commodities such as coal and platinum group metals (PGMs), resulting in retrenchments, the closure of some shafts and a cut in investment for some projects. Despite this, the MCSA said on Wednesday that its members made heavy investments in social and development projects last year. But notwithstanding the data from the MCSA, some communities and environmentalists feel that mining firms are not doing enough. At a time when SA’s mining industry is floundering amid the closure of shafts and worsening job losses, the Bench Marks Foundation has called for the re-purposing of affected areas and communities to put them on a sustainable footing. Making the situation worse was a dearth of investment into exploration activity across the SA mining industry. This sentiment has resulted in protests against mining operations and companies while employees have been demanding higher remuneration and a moratorium on retrenchments.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tawanda Karombo at Business Report
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