[Polokwane High Court, Limpopo – 07 July 2021] Nkwe Platinum Limited was victorious in an application launched against it by Modikwa Platinum Mine in Polokwane High Court. Modikwa had taken Nkwe Platinum Limited to court over land incursion allegations in respect of the Maandagshoek farm. The matter was heard before the Polokwane High Court on 30 June 2021 and the judgement dismissing the Modikwa application with costs was obtained on the 7 of July 2021.
“We are pleased with the judgement,” says Zhiyu Fan, CEO and Managing Director of Nkwe Platinum Limited. “It will allow us to continue our commitment in infrastructure development as well as economic and social upliftment of the surrounding local communities.”
As part of the Nkwe Platinum’s first generation social and labour plan (‘SLP’), some R18 million has already been invested in the upgrading of the Garatau Community Access Road. The upgraded road connects the HC Boshoff Hospital to the Ga-Makwae village and has been used by the local communities since December 2020. Nkwe Platinum has further invested over R14.5 million into Adult Training and Education, Learnerships and Bursaries, which have benefited the surrounding mine communities.
In October 2020, the second generation SLP was approved, which will see further local economic development (‘LED’) projects in the form of clean water supply to the local mine communities over the next few years. The water supply project has already commenced with the supply of water tanks and re-equipping of water boreholes.
As a priority, Nkwe Platinum will employ people from the local communities for all projects where possible and will continue to provide bursaries and learner ships for students from the local community, provide community donations to alleviate poverty, and provide support to the local communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nkwe Platinum is a wholly owned subsidiary of Zijin Mining Group, a leading multinational mining company headquartered in China.