Anglo Platinum condemned for safety violations while relocations seem fated to continue

Anglo Platinum condemned for safety violations while relocations seem fated to continue

8th June 2007

Anglo Platinum has denied reports of ministerial intervention to stop relocations of some 10 000 people from the Ga Pukwa and Ga Sekhaolelo villages, in Limpopo, to make way for Anglo Platinum’s (Angloplat’s) PPR platinum mine, according to Mining Weekly (6 June 2007). A company spokesperson acknowledges that the relocations have been delayed, while at the same time stating the process is continuing.

The South African minister of Minerals and Energy, Buyelwa Sonjica, was said to have ordered the company to halt the relocation of the communities to the nearby "camp" at Armoede. Later, the ministry denied the report, declaring that it had no power to make such an order, while other sources claimed that "negotiations" were continuing with community representatives.

Meanwhile, four workers died last week in accidents at the company's Rustenburg platinum, prompting the National Union of Mineworkers to condemn "the lack of training and failure to follow safety procedures at Anglo Platinum".