E Oppenheimer & Son and De Beers Consolidated Mines’ Diamond Route won the overall sustainability award at the fifth annual Nedbank Capital Green Mining Awards on October 20.
Initiated in 2002, the Diamond Route is a cross-provincial tour of nine conservation areas. The initiative promotes skills development, education, research, monitoring and tourism development. Targeted audiences range from educational institutions to mines, local communities and the public.
The project’s achievements to date include more than 120 environmental research projects, cultural and bird-guide training, environmental education for school groups from disadvantaged areas and the discovery of a new insect species. There is also a training programme for young conservationists from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Public and private-sector partnerships have been integral and include organisations such as SANParks and the Endangered Wildlife Trust. The runner-up for the overall award was Exxaro’s Lephalale Eco Housing Project in the Limpopo province.
It combines green building design principles, renewable energy sources and water conservation technology in a mixed housing model that accommodates 1 124 mine employees and their families. It also incorporates a large skills-development programme.
“The aim of these awards is to acknowledge and celebrate the invaluable contribution that responsible mining and mineral beneficiation make to the sustainable economic development of Africa,” says Peter van Kerckhoven, the joint head: mining and resource for Nedbank Capital.
Companies from anywhere on the African continent are eligible, but only entities with an accepted sustainability record are considered. Beyond the main sustainability award, other awards recognised environmentalism, positive socioeconomic impact and projects with limited resources.
The winner in the environmental category was AfriSam’s Project Green Cement, which was established in response to the high carbon dioxide emissions during the manufacture of cement. The company reduced emissions more than 30% over an eight-year period (to an average 634kg of carbon dioxide a tonne of cement) while concurrently increasing cement production
more than 50%.
AfriSam is also the first company worldwide to introduce a carbon dioxide rating system. In 2010, it launched a cement product that has a carbon dioxide rating of 453g carbon dioxide per kilogram of cement compared to the world average of 890.
Lonmin’s Thusong Service Centre and the Silindini Bridge in the Eastern Cape were joint winners in the socioeconomic category. Built by the local community and funded by Lonmin, the centre serves eight isolated villages where previously basic government services were virtually inaccessible.
The centre provides space for weekly visits from several government departments, including the police, home affairs, health, agriculture and social security. Lonmin also designed and funded the construction of the Silindini Bridge to improve access, safety and mobility for the villagers.
The project included community training in construction. The other joint winner was Exxaro’s Zikhulise SMME Development and Skills Training Centre in KwaZulu-Natal, founded to stimulate the development of sustainable small, micro and medium enterprises through skills transfer, training, advice, incubation and mentorship.
BHP Billiton’s Dreamfields Project was a runner-up in the socioeconomic category, providing resources to stimulate the playing of soccer in rural and township schools, including kit provision, event management and the building of soccer fields. No awards were made in the limited resources category.