Rankings
Each company has been given a ranking from 1 to 4, based on the usefulness and clarity of its public disclosures on financial provision for environmental rehabilitation.
1Atlatsa Resources Corporation
In addition to standard disclosures1 Atlatsa provides:
- A detailed description of the law applicable to financial provision for environmental rehabilitation; and
- operation-specific descriptions of the most significant environmental risks identified and the remedial steps taken to address these risks.
1Exxaro Resources Limited
In addition to standard disclosures, Exxaro provides:
- A brief description of the law applicable to financial provision for environmental rehabilitation;
- useful information in a “supplementary report” about the amount of land disturbed by Exxaro’s operations versus the land it has rehabilitated; and
- detailed information (also in its supplementary report) indicating trust fund balances, remaining life of mine, and the further contributions required, per operation.
2Impala Platinum Holdings Limited
In addition to standard disclosures, Implats provides:
- A brief description of the law applicable to financial provision for environmental rehabilitation; and
- a breakdown of its financial provision for environmental rehabilitation per operation.
2Wescoal Holdings Limited
In addition to standard disclosures, Wescoal provides:
- Details regarding the remaining life of mine of each operation, in the context of its discussion of how the group intends to finance its financial provision obligations; and
- A breakdown of its financial provision for environmental rehabilitation per operation.
3Anglo American Platinum Limited
3Eastern Platinum Limited
3Northam Platinum Limited
3Royal Bafokeng Platinum Limited
These companies provide standard disclosures. Site specific liabilities and impacts are not considered in the context of financial provision for environmental rehabilitation. These companies do not report on financial provision per operation.
4MC Mining Limited
4Wesizwe Platinum Limited
4Lonmin plc
MC Mining and Wesizwe provide standard disclosures, but fail to disclose who is responsible for calculating environmental rehabilitation costs.
While Lonmin provided the same standard disclosures, the information was fragmented and particularly difficult to understand.
None of these companies report on financial provision per operation.
In terms of responding to the CER’s letter requesting further information and clarity, the responses of Northam Platinum, Impala Platinum, and Royal Bafokeng Platinum are acknowledged for being particularly helpful.
- Standard disclosures include the estimated costs of rehabilitation, and the funds and guarantees in place to meet those obligations; basic information relating to the person responsible for the estimation of the costs of rehabilitation; basic assumptions used in the calculation of the financial provision; and the accounting treatment of the financial provision.