RICHARDS BAY MINERALS
Sand mining operations at Richards Bay Minerals
ENHANCING LIVES
Richards Bay Minerals (RBM), a joint venture between Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Blue Horizon Investments (B-BBEE) and RBM employees, is a leading producer of titaniumminerals, high purity iron and zircon.
RBM mines and processes heavy minerals found in the coastal sands of northern KwaZulu-Natal.
The company is a major economic contributor to the region and employs 1800 permanent staff and up to 2200 contractors at any given time.
Established in 1976, RBM has since implemented sound corporate social development programmes and an award-winning environmental rehabilitation programme, based on Rio Tinto's standards, which restores mined dunes back to their natural state after mining.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
RBM is committed to the sustainable custodianship of the environmental, social and economic capital within our sphere of influence in pursuit of our vision of becoming the world's leading mineral sands processor.
This is achieved by working in partnership with a wide array of stakeholders including shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers, surrounding urban and rural communities, local tribal authorities, local and national chambers of business, special interest groups, political leaders, academic institutions, the media and local, provincial and national government departments. At RBM we believe that our business is defined by the interactions we have with our stakeholders and we believe that long-term relationships based on trust and mutual benefit as well as acting with integrity and responsibility are the key to our business success.
Sustainable outcomes are driven by the need for the consistent supply of our products to world markets. As a global corporate it is imperative thatwe communicate the need to balance economic performance with environmental and social performance imperatives.
SOCIAL INVESTMENT
The company's corporate social investment programme encompasses education, health care, agricultural development, economic empowerment and community safety. The programme is improving the quality of education, preventing illness and promoting better health, facilitating skills transference and capacity building, providing employment in an area characterised by high unemployment. It empowers rural people, especially women who are usually at the bottom of the economic scale, to improve the quality of their lives and livelihoods and so become more self-sufficient.
ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTION
RBM contributes about 3.5% of the Gross Geographic Product of KwaZulu-Natal; 18% of the GGP of the north-east region of KwaZulu-Natal. The company employs more than 1800 permanent employees, 78% of which are historically disadvantaged South Africans.
SOCIAL IMPACT
Our vision extends beyond the fostering of a motivated and skilled workforce into the wider community where, for the past three and a half decades, we have been working in partnership with our surrounding communities on a comprehensive sustainable development programme.
This programme encompasses four filters: corporate governance, economic development, care for the environment and social issues.
