Key challenges

Community engagement

Xstrata seeks to engage with community groups at all stages of the business life cycle – from pre-feasibility through to closure of our operations – with due respect for local interests, cultures and customs.

Addressing community concerns
Addressing community concerns
Concern Action
Employment opportunities and ongoing job security
  • All vacancies are advertised locally
  • Preference is given to local employees where possible
  • We comply with the Mining Charter in South Africa
  • Skills development centres are established to provide local people with the skills they need to compete for skilled jobs
  • Work with indigenous organisations to increase employment opportunities
  • Employees and employee representative organisations are fully consulted and included in the decision-making about changes to our operations
  • Where operations need to close, Xstrata works with the local community to minimise the impact of closure
Safety
  • Xstrata believes achieving excellence in safety is key to its success and that work-related incidents, illnesses and injuries are preventable
  • We work to eliminate incidents in the workplace by identifying, assessing and, where reasonably practical, eliminating or otherwise controlling hazards – through leadership, management standards, safety systems, engineering standards and behavioural programmes
  • Details of our safety initiatives are outlined in the safety chapter of this report
Workplace health
  • Use of internationally recognised monitoring standards and implementation of controls to eliminate or minimise exposure to hazards
  • Funding of research into management solutions for health issues
  • Ongoing improvements to reduce dust, noise and other health risks
  • Workplace training
  • HIV/AIDS education, prevention and training initiatives; voluntary counselling, testing and treatment programmes
Care of the environment
  • Xstrata is committed to the highest standards of environmental management and performance
  • Participatory community environmental monitoring e.g. at Las Bambas, McArthur River Mine
  • Work with NGOs e.g. Conservation Volunteers Australia to improve biodiversity conservatio
Air quality
  • ISASMELT technology enables smelters to reduce their SO2 emissions
  • Premus technology is being used in ferrochrome smelters to reduce emissions and operate more efficiently
  • We utilise technology to mitigate emissions, such as scrubber systems and converter hoods
  • Other initiatives are outlined in the environment chapter of this report
Water quality and availability of water
  • Water management and conservation initiatives (all operations)
  • Recycling of water generated on site (most operations) and purified sewage water
  • Research into improving water quality
  • Discharging only under licence conditions
  • Other initiatives are outlined in the environment chapter of this report

The enterprise has since developed an off-take agreement with Silicon Smelters for its charcoal and employs around 100 local people, with plans to increase employee numbers to 200. The project created a viable business for the community and addressed a local environmental issue. The charcoal plant uses highly invasive, introduced black wattle trees, targeted by the government for removal, and will contribute to restoring the biodiversity of the area through removal of the introduced species and replanting of indigenous species in addition to becoming a sustainable, fully independent business.

Addressing community concerns
Addressing community concerns
Concern Action
Sustainable communities and enterprise development
  • Education, training, employment and procurement opportunities and development projects to enable communities to become sustainable
  • Decentralised procurement policy encourages local purchasing
  • In South Africa, procurement preference is given to BEE companies
  • We encourage our existing suppliers to form partnerships with HDSAs in South Africa
  • Training and seed funding to establish SMEs and support enterprise development
  • See socio-economic chapter for further information
Healthcare and care of orphans
  • Training programmes to enable community members to care for terminally ill patients at home
  • Community health clinics in South Africa to provide HIV/AIDS voluntary counselling, testing and treatment
  • Connect employees with HIV/AIDS to appropriate care and support services
  • Funding of accommodation for orphans in South Africa
Basic infrastructure and amenities
  • Extension of electricity supply for communities, e.g. at Project Lion in South Africa and Minera Alumbrera, Argentina
  • Establishment of schools and school improvement projects in Mpumalanga Province
  • Maintenance of roads
  • Construction of fresh water bores
  • Housing schemes for employees and their families
  • Irrigation and support for agriculture and livestock farming
  • Expansion and refurbishment of schools, provision of education materials to more than 200 primary and secondary schools in Argentina
  • Primary healthcare community clinics, support for regional healthcare services and facilities, particularly for remote communities
Traditional rights and cultural heritage
  • Joint identification and protection of sacred and cultural sites
  • Development of cultural heritage management plans with local communities
  • Cultural heritage and indigenous culture training
Lack of activities for youth and children
  • Dance drama workshops
  • Establishment of multimedia centres
  • 'Kids Business – Everyone's Business' and 'I Can' programme in Queensland
  • Support of sporting, cultural and arts initiatives
  • Funding for youth centres, e.g. Shireton Youth Centre in New South Wales, to provide social, recreational and education activities