Amplats commits to community water initiative near Mogalakwena

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Global platinum miner Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) has embarked on an initiative to fund solutions to some of the water challenges in the communities surrounding its Mogalakwena openpit mine, in Limpopo.

The company, which last week announced a new sustainability strategy, will deliver 3.5-million litres a day to communities in the Greater Mapela region.

Amplats is currently trucking water to some of the 42 villages around Mogalakwena.

Amplats corporate affairs executive head Seara Mkhabela said on Friday that the sustainability strategy highlighted the importance of keeping people and the environment safe, and using collaborative regional development to provide sustainable benefits for host communities.

The strategy includes a commitment to reduce freshwater abstraction by 50% in water-scarce regions, such as Limpopo.

Amplats together with the Mapela task team, as a community stakeholder, identified the opportunity for the company to support the community in the provision of water, an initiative that the Mogalakwena municipality has endorsed.

Amplats undertook to fund Hall Core Water Mapela (HCWM) to support the Mapela traditional authority in developing a sustainable plan for the region. HCWM will be responsible for increasing the water supply capacity through drilling, equipping and maintaining of boreholes for ten years.

Further, HCWM will drive the implementation and maintenance of the project, while Amplats, as a funder, will pay for the potable water supplied to the community.

The Mapela water initiative also happens amid National Water Week, which is a government-led initiative aimed at reiterating the value of water and the need for sustainable management of this scare resource.