JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Mining companies need mechanisms to solve conflicts by reaching consensus with stakeholders on dealing with grievances and disputes, former Minerals Council South Africa VP and current Transnet chairperson Andile Sangqu said at the Sibanye-Stillwater-convened fifth annual Marikana memorial lecture.

In 2020, the Johannesburg- and New York-listed Sibanya-Stillwater launched the renewal programme to honour the lives lost, facilitate healing for families and create a new positive legacy for Marikana. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

“It’s heartening for me to witness the progress made towards the families who lost loved ones, and the work that has been done to positively impact the communities of Marikana,” Cape Town Archbishop and Renewal Programme Patron Thabo Makgoba remarked during the commemoration lecture covered by Mining Weekly.

Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman spoke of the lessons Sibanye-Stillwater had learnt from the divisive aftermath in which the company found itself when it acquired Lonmin’s troubled assets in the wake of the tragedy at Marikana, and how that may apply to South Africa’s government.

“The principles underlying our approach at Marikana are deceptively simple: honour, engage and create. What this means in practice is that we had needed to face our collective past, good and bad, even though we might have felt that we had not caused it.

“We needed to engage meaningfully with a broad range of stakeholders on an equal footing and more than any other aspect, we needed to create a future that is different and worth looking forward to,” added Froneman.

Remarkably positive community voices were sounded in reflecting on the renewal programme, the most far-reaching being that of Mooinooi Wagon of Hope secretary Renny Moagi: “We believe that around 2028, we will be having some participant at the Los Angeles Olympics, because through the renewal programme, we're going to renew the swimming pool and the recreation facility.

“We believe we can produce children and even adults who will be able to compete in swimming at the Olympics and many other activities because the buildings are also going to be used for karate, bodybuilding and many other things,” an ultra-upbeat Moagi reported.

As confirmed by Sibanye-Stillwater stakeholder relations executive Thabisile Phumo, Sibanye-Stillwater has a facility in Mooinooi with an Olympic-sized swimming pool, a reflection of the advance of community renewal.

“This is a facility we are refurbishing for use by communities. Now, regarding the extent to which we can prepare for those Olympics, I think the community will decide, but in the not-so-distant future, the facility will be ready for community use,” Phumo said in response to Mining Weekly.

A video on the wide-ranging renewal work accomplished since the Marikana tragedy unfolded in August 2012 told of 44 families that are rebuilding their lives, and the activities of communities in building a better future for the next generation.

When Sibanye-Stillwater acquired the Marikana-scarred operations in 2019 it began contributing to the creation of a new and shared future.

It has invested in education, and taken foundational steps to empower youth and help to liberate families out of poverty.

The youth centre after-school programme provides a cradle-to-career model that focuses on the holistic development of the individual, including the academic, personal and artistic development of young people, while considering the social and economic factors that impact their learning.

The majority of households in Marikana are headed by single mothers who work during the day and the youth centre helps to ensure that children receive a nutritious meal with after-school lessons in English and mathematics.

In collaboration with the Department of Education, the Marikana primary school was established where 19 qualified teachers have provided education to 690 learners since 2023.

Free WiFi is provided to 18 schools and supplementary mathematics and science programmes to 16 schools.

In total, four schools have been built and upgraded, providing for almost 2 800 learners.

In partnership with the Department of Health (DoH), a clinic cares for about 100 patients a day as one of the six healthcare facilities supported.

Also in partnership with the DoH, Marikana Community Health Centre has been renovated and extended to provide primary healthcare to the local community.

Infrastructure upgrades are uplifting the areas that were at the epicentre of the tragedy. A paved entrance road, graded internal roads, street lights, trees and seating areas are being provided to make the Marikana memorial site more accessible.

An agrihub has been created in partnership with the Mineworkers’ Development Agency and the hub’s egg-laying centre sells 7 000 eggs a day.