RUSTENBURG (miningweekly.com) – Lonmin has brought to a close three landmark black economic-empowerment (BEE) deals with employees and host communities that will now bring black ownership levels in the group to 26% and that have resulted in the creation of several community trusts in the labour-fractious Marikana region of the North West.

The newly formed Bapo Community Trust, which would benefit members of the Bapo ba Mogale kingdom, would now hold a 0.9% equity stake in Lonplats, the company that housed Lonmin’s operating divisions Western Platinum (Westplat) and Eastern Platinum (Eastplats), achieving an equity empowerment level of 3.3% for historically disadvantaged South Africans (HDSAs).

The second empowerment deal saw the establishment of an employee share ownership scheme, dubbed Siyakhula, that would see “the vast majority” of Lonmin employees benefit directly from any profits made by Lonplats.

“This is a profit-sharing scheme which, unlike a share ownership scheme, will enable eligible employees to benefit directly – and on an yearly basis – from the profits generated by Westplat and Eastplats.

“This means that, every year, 3.8% of those companies' profits will be set aside for distribution to eligible employees,” Lonmin CEO Ben Magara outlined at a celebratory event in Bapong, in the North West, on Thursday.

A third BEE deal had resulted in the establishment of the Lonplats Marikana Community Development Trust, which would acquire 0.9% of the ordinary shares in Lonplats for the benefit of specific communities residing in the western portion of the miner’s Marikana operations.

Lonmin would further offer R200-million worth of procurement opportunities for small, medium-sized and microenterprises in the area.

“I can summarise the intent of these transactions in one sentence: to form partnerships that will enable us to build this community for ourselves and to contribute to a better life for all.

“All of these partnerships will lead to stronger bonds and a better understanding between all stakeholders, as we now all have a vested interest in the success of our company,” Magara noted at the event, which was attended by the local community; majority union, the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU); representatives of the Department of Mineral Resources; the Bapo ba Mogale royal family; and Lonmin executives.

He added that Lonmin’s BEE priority was “not about the numbers”, but was rather centered on its relationship with its employees and host communities, enabling them to benefit from the “sweat” they put into the company.

The transactions signalled “a new beginning” for the relationships between the platinum miner, its employees and communities.

“We have found each other for the benefit of the communities and employees, who now have a vested interest in seeing Lonmin succeed. The journey we have travelled with the Bapo is something a lot of people believed was never going to happen.

“The Bapo are now a shareholder in this company, which means they have rights and obligations and our priority is to make money so that we can improve the lives of our communities and the lives of ourselves. Let’s dig to improve Lonmin and our own lives,” Magara commented.

The conclusion of the empowerment transactions was, meanwhile, welcomed by Mineral Resources Minister Western Platinum, who lauded Lonmin for meeting the BEE targets as set out in the Mining Charter.

“We are delighted that Lonmin has successfully achieved 26% ownership by HDSA's and that the ownership involves the participation of so many of their local communities and employees,” he said in a statement.

Moreover, AMCU’s Lonmin coordinator Patrick Moepadira applauded Magara for “the character” that he had displayed as CEO of the company.

“He showed character as a CEO. He said he would like to bring changes into the organisation and, as organised labour, we initially doubted him, because there were so many problems inside the company, but he turned it around.

“This transaction allows the communities and employees to be sustained, so I’d like to applaud Magara – we are one of the luckiest [platinum] companies [because] we have him,” he remarked.