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| SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTSOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENTSouth Africa Region At Gold Fields, we believe that people are our business. This belief is central to our 24 Hours in the Life of a Gold Fields Employee Programme (24 Hours Programme); our holistic approach to the promotion of work-life balance.
Key aspects of this programme include the promotion of safety, learning opportunities, balanced nutrition, improved accommodation, health, sport and recreation. These ingredients underpin our Social and Labour Plans, which makes our approach a sensible way of conducting our business rather than a matter of compliance to regulatory requirements. During the past year, learning opportunities were granted to employees and members of local mining and labour sending communities. These included the provision of bursaries, study grants and loans as well as learnerships and internships. Our programme of providing decent living conditions gained momentum in F2009 with the completion of 181 family homes at integrated communities of Blybank and Glenharvie on the West Rand. At the same time, renovations of hostel rooms are underway and will result in employees living in single sex hostels being accommodated in better facilities with more privacy. In F2009, 421 units were completed as part of this upgrade programme. As part of the 24 Hours Programme, employees are able to fulfil their spiritual and recreational needs through a variety of activities run at churches and other social amenities available at the operations. Employees at all our operations receive well-balanced meals that are prepared in accordance with acceptable national and international standards.
Our commitment to people was further demonstrated through our procurement programme. During F2009 we increased the number of HDSA vendors from 558 in the previous reporting period to 639 this year. In the same period, HDSA vendors accounted for 44 per cent of the procurement spend by Driefontein, Kloof and Beatrix. These mining operations worked in partnership with local municipalities to identify and build capacity among SMMEs from local mining communities. By the end of the financial year, 95 SMMEs received training from the Thusanang Training Centre based at Driefontein Gold Mine. We are firmly committed to living our values and will pursue our goal of improving the living and nutritional needs of our employees. We are on track to meet our housing targets and have exceeded industry based nutritional guidelines. The company has positioned safety as its number one value and continues relentlessly in its pursuit of zero harm, meaning no fatal or serious injuries to any of its employees. However, the company also recognises that the loss of life in a mining accident has significant and tragic impact on the family and dependants of the employee who, in many cases, is the primary income earner. In order to alleviate the financial burden on the family, the company has established the following initiatives when an employee dies in a mine accident or is medically incapacitated:
Local economic development Gold Fields’ mining operations each made considerable investments towards the development of communities directly affected by mining activities in the host communities and those in the labour sending communities. The success of these community based initiatives stems from leveraging partnerships with local communities and district municipalities in both host communities and labour source communities. Due to the distinct nature of the host communities and labour sending areas, a two pronged approach has been adopted by the South Africa Region. Each of the mines are responsible for local economic development programmes in host communities adjacent to it and has accordingly made adequate financial provision for projects aimed at community upliftment and poverty alleviation. Since the traditional labour source communities are based in rural areas, TEBA Development was contracted to manage six rural development projects in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal. The engagement with organised labour and the Department of Mineral Resources during this year was significantly more regular and focused on critical human capital developments in the company. Our objective is to build on this foundation and to use our engagement model to its fullest extent by leveraging all interfaces with all our stakeholders inside and outside the company. Host communities The operations continued to support and participate in the review of the Integrated Development Plans of the local municipalities that are directly affected by their respective activities. Kloof Gold Mine approved: (i) the Community Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) programme, (ii) funding for a maths and science improvement programme, and (iii) creating employment for 66 members of the local mining community through a project established to eradicate alien vegetation on the mine’s property. A feasibility study for the establishment of a clinic at the Simunye township in the Westonaria Municipality was finalised. R5 million was approved for the construction of the clinic in partnership with the local municipality and the Provincial Department of Health. South Deep Gold Mine continues to provide much needed meals to needy children at the local school and the library is proving to be a useful resource for the community. Senior mine officials also made a valuable contribution through teaching mathematics and science once a week. Students who participated in these lectures obtained improved pass marks. Beatrix Gold Mine, in partnership with the local municipality, has approved the establishment of a brick making plant for the benefit of the local community. The mine will provide finance for capital items and raw material while the municipality will be responsible for water and electricity. This project will have a direct socio-economic benefit as it will result in job creation, skills development and poverty alleviation. The Golden Oils project continues to operate successfully. Four hectares of gladioli bulbs were harvested in June for export to Holland. The plan is to expand the farm to eight hectares during the next financial year. There is also the possibility of concluding a new offtake agreement for additional bulbs with the main clients in Holland. The evaluation of summer and winter indigenous bulb trials continues to yield positive results and the multiplication of genetic material has started. Driefontein Gold Mine’s construction of the Letsatsing primary school was completed and handed over to the Department of Education in August 2009. The school caters for children from communities in the vicinity of the mine. Twenty bursaries were allocated to Grade 11 and 12 students who excel in mathematics and science at the Carleton Jones High School in Carletonville. The Living Gold project continues to operate with ongoing support from Gold Fields and 237 people are permanently employed, following an investment of R130 million over six years.
A contract was allocated to a local company to undertake environmental remediation work during this year. The contract was in excess of R5 million and provided employment for more than 20 people for an extended period. Labour sending areas The livestock improvement project is implemented in five district municipalities in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal, in more than one hundred villages. The programme has empowered thousands of local small-scale subsistence farmers and created a tangible benefit to sustainable economic development and poverty alleviation. The livestock project operates on a cycle of village visits which are conducted at regular intervals and are guided by seasonal animal health needs. The project uses experienced farmers as mentors who provide support to inexperienced farmers on a number of farming related activities and decisions. Participation in the project is voluntary and mentors work with locally employed enumerators who provide logistical and administrative support to the mentors. By instituting well managed animal health services through a mentorship approach, it is possible to build up farmer-led sustainable livestock support, thus boosting self-employment and production. The table below provides a summary of the various initiatives that the South Africa Region is supporting in its endeavour to stimulate local economies, to assist local farmers in securing linkages to markets, and to build technical capacity for efficient, effective and sustainable farming practices in the labour sending areas. As part of our social responsibility and in response to the challenge posed by HIV and Aids, the South Africa Region was instrumental in supporting the Mine Home Based Care Project, another initiative managed by TEBA Development. This project comprises a network support structure for repatriated mine workers and their families. The project has benefited 380 former Gold Fields employees or members of their families in the Eastern Cape, Free State, KwaZulu Natal, Mozambique, Swaziland and Lesotho. Services include emotional and financial support to widows and orphans which is rendered in partnership with government departments.
Relationship with organised labour, government departments and other stakeholders Relations with organised labour have improved and matured substantially with the National Union of Mineworkers leadership participating actively in debates on human capital restructuring and Safe Production Management strategies. Gold Fields’ senior leadership was invited by the new Minister of Mineral Resources to participate in discussions on illegal mining challenges that are facing the country. In line with the resolution to merge the Mineworkers Development Agency and TEBA Development from the last wage negotiations, Gold Fields has continued to participate actively in the merger task team. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the boards of the two organisations to ensure that a final decision is made as soon as possible. West Africa Region In Ghana, the Group continues to consolidate its commitment to sustainable development through the implementation of a range of carefully selected projects and effective stakeholder engagement. The Gold Fields Ghana Foundation, a charity registered by the Department of Social Welfare of the Government of Ghana, provides us with a vehicle for community investment in the region. The SEED programme is in its third year of existence. SEED is an acronym for Sustainable Community Empowerment and Economic Development. It is a high impact, results focused, sustainable integrated community development programme that focuses on economic growth, wealth creation, quality of life improvement and empowerment through education, capacity building and infrastructure development. During the year under review the Foundation committed approximately US$2 million to ensure that our primary stakeholder communities benefited directly from the growth and success of the company’s operations. The programme, which was conceived in response to the need to improve the quality of life of 30,000 men, women and children in our 16 primary stakeholder communities by 2010, continues to achieve positive results through its focus on four thematic areas namely; agricultural livelihoods, education, health and sanitation and programme sustainability. The programme objectives are fourfold, namely:
One major challenge to large scale mining in Ghana is the activities of Artisanal and Smallscale Mining (ASM). In pursuit of long-term solutions, Gold Fields Ghana is collaborating with other mining companies (within the Ghana Chamber of Mines), the government of Ghana and the ICMM. Gold Fields Ghana played a leadership role in a recent ICMM workshop organised in Elmina in Ghana to encourage dialogue on the issue. To date all of our interactions with artisanal miners have proven to be most successful and we remain committed to finding sustainable solutions to the issue. In Ghana, soccer is strongly believed to be “the passion of the nation”. This underscores the strategic importance of the Gold Fields Ghana headline sponsorship of the national soccer team, the Black Stars. This sponsorship was renewed in 2008. We have maintained our focus on stakeholder engagement and have strengthened our relationships at the national and regional governmental levels through regular meetings with ministers and other senior level government officials to discuss various issues of mutual interest. At an operational level, we continue to improve and fortify our relationships with our communities through our open door policy and the more formal quarterly Community Consultative Community Meetings (CCCM). In addition, we have held review sessions with the chiefs and opinion leaders in our local communities with the prime intent to review the performance of our programmes. Australasia Region In Australia, the Gold Fields Australia Foundation contributed A$848,700 to a range of community projects. The Foundation finalised its A$1,000,000 commitment to the construction of the Kambalda Recreation Centre with a final payment of A$330,000. South America Region In Peru, we are extending and maintaining our current initiatives in the local communities. A positive new development in this regard has been the commencement of a three year development programme in the Hualgayoc Province in partnership with the Clinton Foundation. We intend to provide more detail on this in the next annual report as this initiative has only commenced in the closing month of this financial year. The application of community relations in Peru has been largely informed by extensive stakeholder engagement in the region to ensure that all initiatives are informed by community needs and have the support of all stakeholders. In terms of the provision of access to essential services, we have completed the construction and handover of a school in the Tingo Valley. We have also completed the construction of the health centre at Pilancones. Another activity that we have embarked on is to further the access to electricity in the area as prior to our presence in the area, the infrastructure simply did not exist. With regard to the deployment of agriculturally based development, we have previously reported our support of the pasture programme, the dairy programme and the blueberry project and we continue to support these projects. With regard to community health interventions and concerns, we have embarked on a process of assisting community members with setting up guinea pig farms. To date we have set up some 120 guinea pig farms in partnership with the local community around the Cerro Corona mine and this initiative is proving to be successful. These projects provide families with valuable sources of nutrition. The high incidence of respiratory disease and ailments prevalent at the high altitude communities around the Cerro Corona mine is exacerbated by the use of wood fires for domestic purposes. We have embarked on a project with the local community to improve kitchen facilities within homes that will eliminate the health problems associated with wood fire smoke in homes, mitigate posture related problems and also reduce the use of wood for cooking purposes. We have now completed some 160 improved kitchen facilities in the local communities.
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