JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Platinum group metals (PGMs) mining and marketing company Implats has contributed about R13-billion in taxes and royalties to the South African government for the 12 months to June 30, Implats CFO Meroonisha Kerber said on Thursday.

In total, the participation in value of the government, community and employee stakeholders of the company amounted to roughly R44-billion, with the JSE-listed Implats currently debt free after delivering record results in its 2021 financial year. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

Compared with tax and royalty payments of R3-billion in its 2020 financial year, Implats paid R19.1-billion in taxes across the jurisdictions of South African, Zimbabwe and Canada, where its six mines are operational.

In response to Mining Weekly during an online media briefing, Kerber said that the R13-billion to the South African government was made up of just under R10-billion in taxes and just over R3-billion in royalties.

She described the contribution to the South African fiscus as comparing quite favourably with the total of R17.9-billion declared as interim and final dividends in the period.

Seventy-four percent of its free cash flow, which amounts to R26.7-billion, was allocated to shareholder returns,

Implats CEO Nico Muller credited host governments with helping the mining industry to benefit them hugely by providing very strong support to the industry during Covid, on which Implats spent R500-million combating the pandemic at employee level and another R60-million doing the same at community level.

“We went into an initial lockdown but thereafter the South African government has been very supportive, allowing us to initially ramp up to 50% and eventually 100%.

“In addition to that, if you look at the communities, they have benefitted to the value of just over R3-billion and that is mostly as a consequence of local tier 1 procurement.

“If you look at our employees, they have participated to the value of around R22-billion. That’s in the form of the normal earnings, participation in equity through the employee share option schemes, once-off profit share and a number of other elements.

Social expenditure of R227-million was directed towards infrastructure, education, social economic development and enterprise development.

An investment of R810-million went into skills development, while housing and living conditions benefited from an investment of R212-million.

During the period, R46-million was donated to disaster relief efforts in South Africa, including a R16-million donation to the Gift of the Givers Foundation to provide food, personal protective equipment, water and hygiene relief in mine-host communities and labour-sending areas.

Implats’ excellent latest annual results were driven by higher volumes of PGMs sold into a good pricing environment.