BL Premium reports that Richards Bay Minerals (RBM), which extracts titanium, iron, zircon and rutile in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), has had a tough time expanding its operations in recent years.
A joint venture between Rio Tinto and SA communities, RBM has had to put its Zulti South expansion project on hold since 2020 due to security concerns, which came to a head when GM Nico Swart was assassinated on his way to work in 2021. However, according to MD Werner Duvenhage, the social environment has since turned around, with RBM’s relationship with local communities and provincial government strengthening over the past 12 months. He expects the $500m Zulti South expansion to receive Rio Tinto’s blessing by the middle of this year as the pilot plant built to test the project’s viability has operated without community disruptions since last year. Duvenhage indicated: “On October 1, we went into the area to start opening up roads and building sites and erect overhead power lines. That’s been going on for over four months now with no disruptions, no threats and no violence. As a matter of fact, the community is quite engaging.” He added: “We do have a court case against our community trust, which we want to be restated. That case’s outcome is pending, so the relationship [with the trust] is tense, but with the community on the group it’s excellent. We’ve been sharing a lot more information with them. We ensure we keep them up to date with what we are doing.”
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jacob Webster at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
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