Safety & Sustainable Development

• Overview
• Governance
• Enviroment
• People
• Society
• Key performance information

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All our managed operations have environmental management systems (EMSs) that are certified against the ISO 14001:2004 standard. The EMSs at our operations provide the management framework to track compliance with applicable legal and other requirements, and to support the prevention of pollution and continual improvement. All mines, concentrators, smelters and refineries in operation in 2004 achieved the initial ISO 14001 certification of their EMS during that year. All these operations have maintained such certifications to date. During 2010 all operations were reassessed by an independent service provider, the DQS German Association for Certification of Management Systems (Proprietary) Limited against the ISO 14001:2004 standard. Out of all the reassessments, seven major non-conformances to the standard were raised. These were raised at the Rustenburg mines (4), the Mototolo concentrator (2) and Union Mine (1) and relate to hydrocarbon contamination, waste disposal, training, inadequate human resources, chemicals and the improper close-out of previous findings. Follow-up audits were done by DQS and all the major non-conformances have now been closed out. Several minor non-conformances and numerous observations were raised at other operations, except at Polokwane Smelter, Precious Metal Refiners (PMR) and the concentrator at Mogalakwena North, at which no non-conformances were raised. Non-conformances to the standard are closed out within 90 days of the assessment of the particular operation.

The newly constructed Mogalakwena North concentrator achieved certification for the first time in March 2010.

Unki Platinum Mine will initiate the ISO 14001 certification process in 2011, as it became operational at the end of 2010. The Company requires the certification of all new operations within two years after they have entered their operational phase.

One of our non-managed operations, the Modikwa Platinum Joint Venture, is currently not certified in terms of ISO 14001. The mine plans to get recertified in 2011. The Bokoni Platinum Mine joint venture achieved ISO 14001 certification in June 2010. The Bafokeng-Rasimone Platinum Mine (BRPM) joint venture has maintained its ISO 14001 certification with no non-conformances and a commendation.

Anglo Platinum Limited does not require its joint-venture partners to implement and maintain ISO 14001, but legal compliance with environmental obligations is mandatory. 

MATERIALS

Key bulk materials used include rock mined in underground and open-pit operations, liquid fuels, coal, grease and lubricants. Bulk-material use increases over the years as operations expand. Other key materials used include wood, chemicals and packaging. Although different types of packaging materials are used, volumes are minimal and therefore not material. Anglo Platinum Limited does not currently use waste, processed or unprocessed, from external sources.

The combined rock broken and mined tonnes for managed operations was 39% higher in 2010 than in 2009, mostly as a result of higher stripping ratios at Mogalakwena Mine. Tonnes milled from managed operations decreased marginally over the previous year. Usage of major commodities such as LPG, fuels and lubricating and hydraulic oils has increased between 15% and 30% year on year owing to a shift from conventional to mechanised mining. Usage of coal, grease, and paraffin decreased marginally - between 1% and 2% during 2010 mainly as the result of the Polokwane Smelter shutdown for maintenance for three months. Another reason for reduced coal usage is the installation of an Advanced Process Control (APC) system at Rustenburg Base Metal Refiners (RBMR). The system automatically detects changes inside the boilers. For example, if steam demand decreases, the APC system detects this and responds by reducing the stoker speed, feeding less coal into the boilers. 

BIODIVERSITY

We hold mining, surface and freehold rights over large tracts of land. Land owned, leased or where surface rights exist and that is under our direct management and control comprises 39,049 hectares, 24% less than the 2009 figure of 51,330 hectares. The main reason for this reduction in managed land is the exclusion of the BRPM and Bokoni JVs, which have become non-managed during 2010. This figure excludes the total surface area of the mining right areas as we do not control or manage all of these areas. The land altered for mining and associated activities comprises 14,185 hectares, or nearly 36% of all land managed. We currently mine from mainly underground resources, except at Mogalakwena, which is an open-pit operation. It is thus not possible to report annually on newly rehabilitated land as would be the case for opencast mining, as the pits at Mogalakwena are not rehabilitated concurrently with their mining. There are still mined-out opencast pits at BRPM and in the Rustenburg mining right area. The rehabilitation of the BRPM pit has not yet begun, because it is currently filled with water from the overflowing return-water dam, see page and rainfall. A geohydrological study was completed during 2009, which concluded that the impacts of the overflowing return-water dam are localised and detected only in boreholes within the immediate vicinity of the dam. Sufficient funds are available to commence with the backfilling of the opencast pit, and this is planned for when the pit has been emptied. A water-treatment feasibility study is being undertaken to determine ways to treat the water in the pits for re-use in the mining process. BRPM has also engaged the Department of Water Affairs (DWA) regarding permission to store the water in the opencast pits and these discussions are ongoing.

The Rustenburg pit will not be rehabilitated as it is intended to be used as a regional landfill site for the Rustenburg municipality once specific legal requirements have been met. The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the proposed landfill site is managed by the municipality.

To ensure that our biodiversity action plans are appropriate, we requested Fauna and Flora International (FFI) to conduct high-level biodiversity risk assessments (HLBRA) in 2010 to provide an indication of the biodiversity risks and opportunities at each managed operation. The HLBRA reports identify high, medium or low risks or opportunities for each of the following assessment criteria: 

• Proximity to Protected areas.
• Proximity to threatened species.
• Land cover classification.
• Landscape alteration.
• Hydrology and water resource availability.
• Climate change vulnerability.

In 2011 this information will be used to rank the sites in terms of priority risk and opportunity, and we will be able to report in greater detail. In 2010 the Company supported a number of tree-planting projects (see the case study below), community clean-ups, biodiversity awareness-raising and training initiatives within local communities. With the sale of Bokoni which was surrounded by land of high biodiversity value it has lessened our impact on biodiversity. 

TREES TO SHADE AND FEED COMMUNITIES

Children at the Bakgatla School during their tree
planting event.

The environmental benefits provided by trees and the many ways in which the latter enhance people's lives motivated Anglo Platinum Limited to sponsor the planting of 3,550 trees across the provinces of Limpopo, North West and Mpumalanga during 2010.

The primary initiative was coordinated by Food & Trees for Africa (FTFA) through its Trees for All Programme, which facilitated the planting of 2,000 trees. The programme is a successful and effective one, and it has been greening, educating and transforming schools, clinics, old-age homes, orphanages, hospices, community centres and churches for some two decades.

The trees were planted in a number of lower-income communities whose surroundings are typically devoid of trees. Over time they will provide shade, greener suburbs and a habitat for wildlife; decrease dust and noise pollution; reduce run-off and assist with soil management; and contribute to civic pride.

Anglo Platinum Limited and FTFA compiled an initial list of places where the trees were to be planted, which was refined in consultation with FTFA and agreed to in March 2010. The programme's formal launch was held in April 2010, near Rustenburg.

Anglo Platinum Limited's Polokwane Smelter in Limpopo donated 500 trees to the community and 300 trees to its employees in addition to the trees planted by Anglo Platinum Limited and FTFA; while a further 60 fruit trees and 60 indigenous trees were planted in the operation's vicinity.

In partnership with, and support of, the 'Greening Limpopo Campaign' initiated by the Limpopo Public Works Department, the Company also donated 340 fruit trees and 290 indigenous trees to the Department of Education in the province in 2010. 

AIR QUALITY

Ozone-depleting compounds

Ozone-depleting compounds have been phased out at all major installations, but there are some minor installations in which these compounds are still present. All our refrigerants are ozone friendly, including small air conditioning applications consisting of either ammonia or R134a. The latter has a high global warming potential and will be phased out in this decade.

Our fire extinguishers contain mono-ammonium phosphate powder in all applications except in the protection of electric/electronic circuits. All applications using the ozone-depleting compound, halon, have already been replaced. 

Persistent organic pollutants

The key persistent organic pollutants for the company are polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins and furans. The Stockholm Convention requires that equipment containing PCBs be phased out by 2025. Any PCBs recovered in the interim from such equipment must be treated and eliminated by 2028. Current in situ equipment, such as transformers and capacitors, may remain in place and operational as long as all reasonable steps are taken to prevent leaks. Some of our transformers still contain PCBs. These will be phased out over time to ensure compliance with the Stockholm Convention.

Dioxins and furans are emitted principally from Precious Metal Refiners (PMR) during the incineration of general and process wastes. The incineration is not a continuous process. A capital project to install a new after-burner unit and other engineering solutions will be completed in 2011. 

Sulphur dioxide and particulate emissions

Key emitters of sulphur dioxide (SO₂) are the Waterval, Mortimer and Polokwane smelters, with minor contributions from RBMR and PMR.

Total SO₂ emissions (stack and fugitives) for the refineries and smelters were 17.65 kt in 2010, which is 15% higher than the 15.34 kt emitted during 2009. The increase is attributed to the Waterval Smelter complex. Total SO₂ emissions from the complex increased from 5.3 kt in 2009 to 7.5 kt in 2010. Permit emission levels were exceeded in three months (February to April) of the year during acid plant maintenance. The production throughputs from the smelting complex increased year on year in 2010, resulting in the increased SO₂ emissions. During high emission periods associated with acid plant shutdowns, communication was sent to the stakeholders to make them aware of potential emissions.

SO₂ emissions at Polokwane Smelter increased from 4.9 kt in 2009 to 5.3 kt in 2010. Most of the concentrate smelted was UG2 and, on average, 14.44 tonnes per day were emitted against the scheduled process registration certificate limit of 25 tonnes per day.

The SO₂ emissions at Mortimer Smelter in 2009 were 4.8 kt and aligned with the 2010 figure of 4.6 kt. On average, 12.64 tonnes per day were emitted against the scheduled process registration certificate limit of 24 tonnes per day.

SO₂ emissions from RBMR averaged at 0.36 kt per day for 2009 and 0.23 kt per day for 2010, which can be attributed to the reduced site coal consumption at the RBMR boilers. 

Monitoring of ambient air quality

The National Ambient Air Quality Standards were published in December 2009 and set the limits for ambient concentrations of priority pollutants (sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter, ozone, benzene and carbon monoxide). Although ambient monitoring is not a legal requirement for Anglo Platinum Limited, it is undertaken at the Rustenburg and Polokwane lease areas.

The Rustenburg ambient-air-quality monitoring network currently comprises of seven stationary monitoring stations that measure sulphur dioxide (SO₂); particulate matter (PM10), which are particles with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 10 microns; and meteorological data from all sources in the region. The results for the seven stations are shown in the table below. 

SO₂

There were no exceedances of the SO₂ annual average standard of 50 µg/m3 at any station during 2010. This is consistent with results obtained in 2009.

There were two exceedances of the national SO₂ daily standard (125 µg/m3) and 100 exceedances of the hourly standard (350 µg/m3). This represents an increase compared with 2009 values of nil exceedances of the daily standard and 46 exceedances of the hourly standard. The higher concentrations are attributed to shutdown and maintenance on the acid plant at Waterval Smelter. The media was used to notify stakeholders that visible emissions could be expected from time to time during this period.

Polokwane Smelter has six ambient-air-quality monitoring stations. There were no recorded exceedances of SO₂ or PM10 standards in 2010. Polokwane Smelter is in the process of upgrading its data-capturing and reporting system. 

PM10

Exceedances of the national PM10 daily standard (120 µg/m3) were recorded at five of the seven stations during the year. The results are not comparable with those for previous years owing to the reduction in the PM10 standard by the Department of Environmental Affairs (from 180 µg/m3 to 120 µg/m3 for a daily average) in 2010. The annual averages at four stations decreased in 2010. 

Data capture availability

SO₂ data capture was above 85% at six of the seven stations. The exception was at the Mfidikwe station (where it was 79%). This shows an increase in SO₂ data collection at five stations in 2010. PM10 data capture across all stations increased to 68% during the year (from 63% in 2009). Loss of data was associated mainly with filter-tape and analyser malfunctions throughout the year.

The PM10 analysers at Brakspruit, Hex River, Mfidikwe and Western Limb Tailings Retreatment (WLTR) developed faults and were removed or repaired on site on more than one occasion, resulting in observed data capture rates of 58%, 43%, 61% and 65% respectively for these stations.

The WLTR station is recording daily PM10 concentrations in contrast to the hourly concentrations recorded at the other stations. This may have contributed to the observed number of exceedances of the national PM10 daily standard. 

Dust fallout

Total dust deposition is determined at all operations in accordance with the ASTM D1739 standard test method for the collection and measurement of dust fallout. Dust-fallout buckets are used and samples are analysed by external laboratories. The gravimetric results are compared with the proposed guidelines for dust deposition as described in the SANS 1929: 2005, Edition 1.1. The guidelines set four levels of dust-fall rates (measured in milligrams per cubic metre per day), namely: residential, industrial, action and alert rates. 

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Although dust fallout may be associated with dust generated at tailings dams, other sources - such as crusher plants and gravel roads - are also contributors. Dust fallout is currently monitored at Twickenham Platinum Mine, Mogalakwena Mine, Union Mine, Mototolo Platinum Mine, Polokwane Smelter, the Amandelbult operations and the Rustenburg mines.

The Rustenburg mines conduct dust-fallout sampling at 18 points around the Rustenburg mining right area. Areas of concern that produced high dust levels are managed by measures such as irrigation systems and vegetation on tailings dams, and the spraying of gravel roads with dust suppressant.

The dust fallout decreased significantly at the Paardekraal tailings dams as a result of a new dust-suppression system implemented in 2009. The Paardekraal shaft dust emissions averaged at 249 mg/m2/day in 2010, compared with 1090 mg/m2/day for 2008 and 525 mg/m2/day for 2009.

The overall dust-monitoring trend for Rustenburg highlights that additional dust suppression measures are required ( including water sprays, chemical dust suppressants, dust filters, wind barriers and enclosed infrastructure) at the smelter stockpile area (DB15 in the figure below); and at the grout plants and crushers (see DB16 and DB18 below). 

Atmospheric emission licences

On 1 April 2010 the Atmospheric Pollution Prevention Act (APPA) of 1965 was replaced in its entirety by the National Environment Management: Air Quality Act (AQA) of 2004. The original 72 scheduled processes from the APPA have been reviewed and grouped into listed activities, with a specific set of air-emission standards published on 31 March 2010.

The smelters and refineries that fall under the air-quality listed activities are in the process of applying for atmospheric emission licences. 

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WASTE

Our strategy adopts an integrated approach to waste management, using the waste hierarchy as delineated in the National Environmental Management: Waste Act of 2008 (NEMWA) and the national waste strategy (NWS). We aim to re-use products where possible and to recover value from products when they reach the end of their lives, through recycling, composting or energy recovery. Although the elimination of waste in its entirety will not be feasible, through the systematic application of the waste hierarchy it may be possible to reach a point in future where recovery, reuse and recycling and alternative disposal technologies overtake landfills as preferred means of disposal. The strategy furthermore seeks to provide norms and standards to ensure Group uniformity in managing waste.

The key elements of our waste-management strategy are:

• waste stream identification, categorisation, classification and quantification;
• permitting requirements;
• waste minimisation, reuse, recycling and target setting;
• internal and external reporting; and
• responsible waste disposal and treatment.

The focus in 2011 is on waste minimisation, target monitoring and compliance with the requirements of NEMWA, including permitting requirements.

We will strive to reduce our quantities of waste disposed of to landfill by 15% (from a 2008 baseline) by 2014. To achieve the latter, waste minimisation has been included as a key performance indicator in the scope of work for all our waste management contractors. A recycling and reduction project will commence at the Rustenburg mines in the second quarter of 2011 and will be rolled out to other mines as their waste contracts are re-negotiated. These projects will focus on further increasing the re-use and recycling of waste streams in order to decrease the volume of waste currently sent to landfill.

The 2010 data indicate that general and hazardous waste disposed to landfill decreased by 36% compared with 2009.

Non-mineral, non-hazardous waste management

All non-mineral waste at the operations is segregated into different waste streams. Waste that can be recycled is sent to salvage yards at the operations for final recycling to external users. Most of our operations contract an external company to salvage, reclaim, sort and recycle waste. Some 83.2 t of waste paper, 44.1 t of glass, 18,6 t of steel and 469.5 t of plastic were collected for external recycling in 2010. A small amount (3.6 kt) of other general non-hazardous waste was refurbished for internal re-use.

Non-mineral waste that cannot be re-used, recycled or sold is sent to landfill sites. Just over 46.8 kt of non-mineral, non-hazardous waste were sent to landfill during 2010. 

Non-mineral hazardous waste sent to landfill

Hazardous wastes include oils, grease, fluorescent tubes, medical waste and chemical containers. The final collection and transportation of such waste is carried out by waste contractors. To ensure that 'cradle-to-grave' principles are adhered to, a waste manifest system has been implemented whereby safe disposal certificates are issued by these contractors. Owing to the special requirements for the handling and disposal of medical waste, all medical waste generated at our operations is collected, treated and disposed of by a specialist contractor and safe-disposal certificates are also issued for such wastes. Disposal certificates are audited by independent external auditors during ISO 14001 surveillance assessments. We conduct audits at the hazardous-waste disposal sites. Some 4.8 kt of non-mineral hazardous waste went to hazardous waste landfill during the year, while 12.9 t of medical waste were incinerated.

We do not transport, import or export any waste deemed 'hazardous' under the terms of annexes I, II, III and VIII of the Basel Convention. 

Mineral waste

Mineral waste - accumulated tailings
Standing contracts with specialist consultants provide us with guidance on the environmental and geotechnical aspects of managing our tailings dams. Fraser Alexander is responsible for the construction, operation and closure of all our tailings dams. These contract agreements include dam design, monitoring, audits and risk assessments. All operations have implemented additional criteria for tailings dam management, including: 

• extensive surface and groundwater sampling programmes around the tailings dams;
• improved re-vegetation methods for tailings’ side-slopes; and
• a mandatory code of practice for tailings dams, defining all associated risks and their management. 

We have fifteen active tailings dams, five dormant dams, four dams where re-mining is taking place and two dams where re-mining has been completed. Rehabilitation of the footprint of one of the re-mined dams has started, but is incomplete, while on the other dam it must still commence.

Mineral waste accumulated in active and inactive tailings dams includes all accumulated tailings from the concentrator plants and the co-disposal of excess slag from the Waterval and Mortimer smelters. The tailings at the Klipfontein tailings dam complex are currently being reprocessed through the WLTR plant. The tailings from this plant are sent to the Hoedspruit tailings dam. An aerial inspection of all tailings dams was conducted in 2010 and each tailings dam is subjected to a third-party audit every two years. Post-control instability-risk assessments indicate medium risk at one tailings dam should that dam fail. All other dams were rated as having a low risk of instability.

The identified risks are managed on a continual basis through regular operational and group inspections and through the implementation of pro-active solutions.

Mineral waste - accumulated waste rock
All our mining operations have waste-rock dumps at the different shafts, with the most substantial volume of waste rock at the Mogalakwena open-pit mine.

The waste-rock dumps at the Richard and Spud shafts at Union Mine are being re-mined and crushed, and reprocessed at the Mortimer concentrator to recover platinum minerals. The rock dumps are also a resource in many areas, as they are used for road construction. Aggregate production companies and companies owned by historically disadvantaged South Africans have been given the contracts to process this waste rock, and this has created local employment opportunities.

Mineral waste - slag
Some of the slag produced at Waterval Smelter is disposed of together with tailings on the Paardekraal tailings dam, while a portion is supplied to a third-party company for sandblasting grit. There are also slag dumps at the Mortimer and Polokwane smelters. The Mortimer smelter slag is transferred to the Union concentrators and deposited onto the tailings dam.

The slag pads at Polokwane Smelter are designed to take cognisance of the potential environmental impact of see page and run-off from the slag stockpiles, even though the slag could be considered inert. Slag at the Polokwane smelter is currently stored on a 2-mm-thick HDPE-lined area, known as the 'environmentally compliant pad'. A slag stockpile area has been designed and will eventually consist of five pads built progressively, covering approximately 10.5 hectares in total. Polokwane has been working with a number of technology providers to indentify commercially viable uses for the slag generated through its industrial processes. A number of commercially viable uses are in place, awaiting approval by the authorities. 

ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLAINTS AND INCIDENTS

Complaints

Sixteen formal environmental complaints were reported in 2010, against eighteen in 2009.

Fourteen complaints occurred in the Rustenburg area and were related to visual emissions from the smelter and the refinery, as well as to dust fallout from the tailings dams. All formal complaints received by the Rustenburg operations are communicated to the Community Engagement Department and followed up by site environmental personnel.

Two complaints were received at Twickenham Platinum Mine. One related to treated sewage effluent that was unlawfully seeping on a daily basis during the first half of 2009 into a nearby stream from which the community extracts water to irrigate a community vegetable garden. Community members alleged that the treated effluent had been responsible for poor-quality vegetables and for degrading the health of their cattle. Anglo Platinum Limited constructed three evaporation dams to contain the treated sewage effluent into the stream. The second complaint was linked to odours from the sewage plant. Both complaints are being investigated together with the local Department for Economic Development, Environment and Tourism.

Incidents & sub-standard conditions

Level 1 incidents and sub-standard conditions
The number of level 1 incidents reported in 2010 was 477, which represents a reduction of 82% on the number reported in 2009. This drop resulted mainly from the fact that the reporting categories have been modified; and that ‘sub-standard’ acts or conditions are now reported separately from level 1 incidents. The new category serves to distinguish between actual incidents and acts or conditions that can potentially lead to an incident. A large number (875) of sub-standard acts or conditions were reported in 2010.

Most environmental incidents are caused by the inadequate management of hydrocarbons (diesel, oil, grease, etc); air quality (dust, emissions); other hazardous substances (chemicals); and water (leaks, discharge and contamination). Fewer non-mineral waste (domestic and hazardous) incidents were reported for 2010. The pie chart provides a consolidated view of the various categories of level 1 environmental incident for 2010.

The number of hydrocarbon-related incidents and sub-standard conditions made up 27% and 26% respectively of all reported events in 2010. Hydrocarbon-related incidents include spillage as a result of storage and use of fuel, oil, grease and lubricants requiring attention. The second-most reported event relates to other hazardous substances (chemicals), which also have the potential to pollute water and soil.

The number of air-quality-related incidents increased from 10% to 19% of all incidents reported between 2009 and 2010. Air-quality-related incidents are normally highly visible and also lead to community and employee complaints. This is regarded as a high priority at the tailings dams, where dust fallout is the main cause of reported incidents and complaints. Incidents of gaseous emission are related mostly to emissions from smelters.

All reported incidents and sub-standard conditions generate a response and trends are determined to ensure that their root causes are addressed to prevent a re-occurrence.

Level 2 incidents
No Level 2 incidents were recorded in 2010. According to the incident investigation procedure, all incidents with the potential to have a significant environmental impact are reported to the relevant authorities and are investigated in detail to ensure that a realistic and accurate indication of significance is allocated in the final ratings. As a result ten possible level 2 incidents at different operations were investigated, of which one was related to the failure of a tailings pipeline, one to a chemical spill and eight to the overflow of dams or containment areas. All these incidents were found to have had a low impact on the environment and were thus downgraded to level 1 incidents and reported as such to the authorities.

Level 3 incidents
No level 3 incidents were recorded in 2010.