Royal Bafokeng Platinum staff Housing Project continues

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Platinum group metals mining company Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBPlat) has to date invested almost US $57m, of a projected US $160m, in the housing project devised for its staff, in line with its aspirational creed to engage in “More than Mining”. The intention with the housing project is to house staff from the company’s Styldrift and Royal Bafokeng Rasimone Platinum mine complex, located about 30km north-west of Rustenburg.

Waterkloof Hills Estate

The housing development, named Waterkloof Hills Estate, is situated on 294ha, with the land in question purchased by RBPlat for about US $11.4m. The acreage is located next to the N4, and is close to Waterfall Mall, in Rustenburg. The housing project includes Phase 1, which started in 2012 with 422 houses, and Phase 2, which started in 2014 and comprises 3 100 houses as well as a future commercial node comprising a shopping mall, clinic, school and hospital, among other facilities.

Notably, over 1 000 homes have been successfully bought and inhabited by RBPlat employees already. During the company’s results presentation earlier this month, RBPlat CFO Hanré Rossouw insisted that the company would continue to afford every employee the opportunity to own a “dignified home”, and that it would continue its investment in the Waterkloof Hills Estate. He added that the company is committed to the success of this initiative which, at this point, is at its initial stages with a number of aspects of the project being evaluated and finalised.

The company announced in June 2014 that it had, in 2013, embarked on an initial pilot housing project of 400 houses and that subsequently, during May 2014, a collective agreement had been concluded with the company’s recognised union representatives, setting out the basis for all future employee housing arrangements, as initially contemplated in the 2011 wage agreement.

According to RBPlat’s 2019 Integrated Report, the gazetting of the Mining Charter emphasised the need to ensure that the location of employee home ownership schemes should ensure that the houses’ value would not be negatively impacted on by the end-of-life of the associated mine. With this in mind, it was agreed with the union leadership that the homes should be located near Rustenburg. This means that its employees need to travel approximately 40km to and from the mine.