Rio Tinto subsidiary Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) has taken the first step towards extending its operations over a 20km strip of coastline south of the town in northern KwaZulu-Natal.
This follows the signing of a land use agreement with the traditional authorities that represent the host communities that live on the land.
The move secures about 4 000 jobs and is set to create several hundred more in the mine set-up phases and once production starts.
The agreements with the Dube and Mkhwanazi traditional authorities pave the way for the development of RBM’s Zulti South mine, which will extend the life of RBM’s operations until 2037.
Deposits of minerals, including iron slag, zircon and titanium, have being mined at RBM’s Zulti North mine for 40 years and are almost depleted.
The plan is for Zulti South to come online in phases to maintain production levels of 200 million tons a year.
The mine currently employs 2 000 permanent and 2 000 contract employees, and Zulti South is expected to maintain these jobs and create new ones through the relocation.
RBM spokesperson Brenda Biyase said Zulti South would create about 100 new permanent jobs and about 2 000 temporary contracting jobs at the peak of construction, which would directly affect about 7 500 people.
The first ton of ore should be delivered to the smelter in November next year.
Zulti South phase one, which includes setting up new dry mining infrastructure in the Port Durnford area, is set to come on stream in the next few months, and will extract about 2 500 tons of heavy minerals an hour.
Zulti South phase two is set to start operating in 2021 at a lower production level of 1 250 tons an hour.
Tenders for labour and services for various construction projects were distributed last month.
RBM managing director Mpho Mothoa said the signing of the surface lease agreement, and servitude and protocol agreements in preparation for Zulti South was a “milestone worth celebrating”.
Mothoa said the agreement “promises the start of a successful, safe and productive mine for all”, and that RBM would continue to work with host communities to bring about sustainable economic development.
He said RBM would try to localise businesses to benefit and stimulate the economy of host communities, both during production and in the rehabilitation process.
“As Rio Tinto and RBM, we promise to leave the land in a better state than it was in when we came here. We have a world-class rehabilitation process in the Zulti North mine and we will do likewise in the south. We will also strive to localise the business for the benefit of our economy,” he said.
The agreements provide relief after a tough 2016 for RBM. Disaffected youth groups from the Sokhulu and Mbuyazi communities, which host the RBM smelter and part of the Zulti South mine, staged protests, blocked roads and forced a series of mine shutdowns throughout the year.
Tensions were heightened after the murder of youth leader Thokozani Mbika and another man in July, and after the murder of RBM human resources manager Ronny Nzimande in September.
Premier Willies Mchunu appointed an administrator to run the Mbuyazi Tribal Authority to try to resolve a decade-long leadership dispute that has prevented the payment of more than R30 million to the community in terms of a land claim agreement struck with a series of host communities.