Sustainability website / Case Studies 2004 / Xstrata alloys / Tackling contributing factors

Tackling contributing factors

The accommodation of mineworkers in hostels has long been a contentious issue in South Africa. Eric Ratshikhopha, Executive Director Corporate Development Xstrata South Africa, believes that Xstrata's programme to assist employees to purchase or rent their own homes with the aim of eliminating single-sex hostel accommodation has had significant social impacts.

"We believe that single-sex hostels for workers, who are often far away from their families, have exacerbated a number of social problems, including the spread of HIV/AIDS. To combat this, we have introduced a funding programme to help families cover the cost of renting or buying a home closer to work," he said. "The programme has been underway for two years now and more than 95% of our employees have taken up this offer, with less than 5% of employees choosing to remain in hostels. "

"We have also undertaken a major education campaign to explain to our employees the value of owning their own home and living in a sustainable environment with their families."

"The opportunity to access government subsidies and home loans for the first time is helping to make this an attractive proposition. The Presidential Housing Project in Witbank, for example, is proving a popular choice for our first-time home owners and their families."

Xstrata's approach has resulted in small communities being established near our operations, where families live together.

We are supporting the development and improvement of local schools, including the Marifaan Primary School which is located near our Lydenburg chrome smelter. With our ZAR2 million donation, the school was able to build new classrooms. We are also helping these new communities to become self-sustaining through our small business programme.

In Breyten, we provided funding for 12 women who operate the Silindokuhle overall factory to undergo business management training, including advanced training by the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS). As a result, the factory is now providing our operations with overalls and is in a position to market to other mines and local businesses.

To foster the sustainability of these small communities further, we support a number of agricultural programmes. In 2004, we established the Commercial Farmer Settlement Project which aims to help historically disadvantaged South Africans enter the mainstream economy. As part of this significant farming initiative, we have provided 175 hectares of suitable agricultural land adjacent to our Arthur Taylor Colliery – 30km from Witbank and 110km east of Johannesburg – and are offering farming traineeships to local people. Through this project we hope to encourage these 'new farmers' to enter into long-term lease agreements with us to farm the land.

We offered four traineeships in 2004 – one to an experienced junior farm manager who had worked on a commercial farm in the area, and the other three to graduates from Tshwane University of Technology.