Operations at Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) in northern KwaZulu-Natal have been suspended after community members blockaded roads leading to the mine’s entrance.
RBM is a subsidiary of Rio Tinto. It extracts titanium iron ore, rutile and zircon from the dunes surrounding these communities.
Residents of KwaSokhulu and KwaMbonambi are demanding permanent jobs and “equal” business opportunities.
“Over the last few weeks, RBM has faced a series of disruptions as a result of protests and road blockages by the community,” the company said yesterday. “After numerous engagements with community structures, the situation remains volatile. All operations are suspended until further notice.”
Fundi Dlamini, a GM for communities and corporate relations at RBM, sought to downplay the protests. It was not all local residents who were behind protests, but rather “a small group within the community who demands employment and skills development opportunities over and above those we discussed and agree with them on”, he said.
Mr Dlamini declined to disclose how much the shutdown was costing RBM, and said the plants were on care and maintenance.
“We are in constant communication with all our customers and we are doing everything we can to minimise the impact and therefore protecting our reputation with customers,” he said.
Sokhulu Youth Committee deputy-general Mandla Mncadi said the protests were a result of unequal treatment by RBM of its host communities.
“We want to be treated the same as host communities. If the other community is getting business opportunities, we must also get them,” he said. Among other demands, the Sokhulu community wants RBM to offer its residents permanent jobs as well as equal business opportunities, said Mr Mncadi.
But RBM said there were currently no vacancies. “We do employ individuals from the community where there are vacancies. At the moment, there are none,” said Mr Mncadi. “RBM is an equal opportunity employer, which means that each individual needs to meet the criteria we have in place.”
Mr Mncadi said while not everyone was qualified to work in the mine, “RMB needs to train and develop skills among interested community members”.
Department of Mineral Resources spokesman Martin Madlala said: “We are engaged in multistakeholder forums to address the situation together with the MEC (for economic development, tourism and environmental affairs) Mike Mabuyakhulu.”
Source: BDlive
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