Limpopo Business 2017-18 edition

PROFILE
Unlocking opportunity
Ivanplats brings a new dawn to Mokopane.
Ivanplats is developing a world-class underground
platinum-group elements, nickel, copper and gold
mine in Mokopane, Limpopo. The company plans
to use highly mechanised methods to mine the
deposit.
Ivanplats’ Managing Director, Dr Patricia Makhesha,
says: “We are proud to have shared our almost 20
years of exploration and development achievements
at Platreef with supportive stakeholders.
These stakeholders, including more than 150 000
local Mokopane area residents, see international
investment and professionally managed development
of natural resources as keys to unlock widely
shared opportunities and prosperity.”
The Platreef mine is projected to require a workforce
of approximately 2 200 within four years of
the start of production operations and Ivanplats
will have invested a total of R160-million in the
Platreef social and labour plan from 2014 to 2019.
The approved plan includes R67.2-million for the
development of job skills among local residents
and R87.7-million for local economic development
projects.
“In establishing our social and labour plan, Ivanplats
has been mindful of the South African government’s
National Development Plan and its priority
of securing undertakings that create jobs and
advance socio-economic development to alleviate
poverty and unemployment,” says Dr Makhesha.
“The social and labour plan programmes that we
are currently implementing demonstrate Ivanplats’
commitment to ensuring that people in our
host communities benefit from our operations,
directly and indirectly, in ways that contribute to
improving their quality of life and expanding their
opportunities.”
The year 2017 was tagged by Ivanplats as “The Year of the
Youth” and the company focused on bringing information
and connectivity to the people in its host communities. The
project, called Maru a Mokopane (Sepedi for the Clouds
of Mokopane), saw the installation of eight free Wi-Fi
hotspots in Ivanplats’ host communities, the development
of an online communication portal and the creation of 17
micro digital enterprises that are responsible for training
people in how to use this free system. One of the digital
trainers, Pitso Oupa Zono, is training a resident at Tshamahansi
Wi-Fi hotspot on how to use Maru a Mokopane.
Mrs Lizzie Seema from Sekgoboko was
one of the participants in a non-core
training programme Ivanplats initiated.
She completed the electrical training
module sponsored by Ivanplats and
started an electrical business focusing
on tubing and wiring of houses with the
support of her trainer.
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