Application for a new mining right for De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited (Koffiefontein Mine): 2005 NO 1 Social impact assessment report Application for a new mining right for De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited (Koffiefontein Mine): Social impact assessment report Centre for Development Support (IB 100) University of the Free State PO Box 339 Bloemfontein 9300 South Africa www.ufs.ac.za/cds Report commissioned by De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd (Koffiefontein Mine). Please reference as: Centre for Development Support (CDS). 2005. Application for a new mining right for De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited (Koffiefontein Mine): Social impact assessment report. CDS Research Report, LED and SMME Development, 2005(1). Bloemfontein: University of the Free State (UFS). ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project has greatly benefited from the assistance of various people. The Consultant wishes to thank the following people in particular for their support during the course of the project and / or professional inputs and comments in the compilation of this report. Mr. Chris Botha, sustainable development coordinator: Koffiefontein Mine. Mr. Gavin Anderson, assistant environmental officer: Koffiefontein Mine. Ms. Sylvie de Bruyn from Urban Dynamics for her coordinating role in the project. Mr. Dick Kruger from the Chamber of Mines of South Africa, for comments on the scoping report. Everybody who were interviewed during the scoping and assessment phases of the project. The communities of Koffiefontein, Dithlake and Diamanthoogte for their participation in various data gathering phases of the project. CDS Bloemfontein March 2005 //000// ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY As part of their application for a new mining right, De Beers Koffiefontein Mine is required by law to prepare and submit an environmental management programme (EMP) that includes inter alia an assessment and evaluation of the impact of the proposed mining operations on the socio-economic conditions of any person who might be directly affected by the mining operation. This document thus reports on the outcome of a social impact assessment (SIA) that was conducted to inform the said EMP, and more specifically the compilation of a Social and Labour Plan as stipulated by the Mineral & Petroleum Resources Development Act of 2002. With due allowance for the fact that several options with regard to the future of Koffiefontein Mine are currently being explored that may prolong the life of the mine, it has been assumed for purposes of the SIA that eventually De Beers will terminate their mining operations at Koffiefontein. This assumption – further underpinned by the stipulation in the Schedule to the Mineral & Petroleum Resources Development Act that planning for mine closure must continue throughout the life of the operation - has formed the basic point of departure and framework for the subsequent SIA. As such, the purpose of this report is to inform Koffiefontein Mine of the anticipated socio-economic impacts that might result from the termination of mining operations at Koffiefontein in the future, and thus the impacts of the subsequent non-involvement of De Beers in the affected environment. The report further recommends appropriate mitigation strategies for the anticipated impacts, and also provides a monitoring and evaluation plan that will allow the client to monitor whether selected mitigation strategies are followed. The methodological approach for the SIA involved a wide range of stakeholders and information gathering techniques during various stages of scoping, impact identification and assessment. The stakeholder participation process included iii public meetings, key-informant interviews, focus group sessions, an extensive social survey and a one-day participatory workshop with strategic informants. Community observation, site visits and scenario simulation were further employed to inform and validate the projection and assessment of impacts. In order to systematise and focus the data gathering and assessment process, interested and affected parties were grouped in the following categories: community members, current Koffiefontein Mine employees, ex-employees, business sector, local government, and the public sector. Emanating from this process, this document reflects the aggregated and cumulative opinions, concerns and expectations of more than 700 participants. Five broad sectors of impacts were identified to consolidate the crosscutting nature of expected impacts, and also to capture the common denominators of concerns and issues raised by interested and affected parties. The sectoral impacts are grouped and assessed in term of the following categories: Impacts on the demographic profile of Koffiefontein Impacts on the public sector at Koffiefontein Impacts on land use and infrastructure at Koffiefontein Impacts on the economic sector at Koffiefontein Impacts on the socio-psychological well-being of the community in the affected environment. The status and significance of identified impacts per sector are summarised below: Summary of impacts on the demographic profile of Koffiefontein Type of impact Status of the Significance of impact impact Without After mitigation Mitigation Decline in the population size Mainly negative Moderate to high Low Change in labour migrant patterns Negative Moderate Low to moderate iv Summary of impacts on the public sector at Koffiefontein Type of impact Status of the Significance of impact impact Without After mitigation Mitigation A decrease in revenue of the Negative High Moderate to high district and local municipality The termination of service Negative Moderate Low agreements (formal and informal) with Koffiefontein Mine An increase in the number of Negative High Low to moderate indigent households Decreased contributions (of De Negative Moderate Low Beers) to educational institutions and social programmes Close down of the mine clinic Negative Moderate Moderate Summary of impacts on land use and infrastructure at Koffiefontein Significance of impact Type of impact Status of the Without After impact mitigation Mitigation Deterioration of recreational Negative Low to Moderate Low facilities Decrease in property values Negative High High Vacancy of a large number of Negative Moderate Low properties v Summary of impacts on the economic sector at Koffiefontein Type of impact Status of the Significance of impact impact Without After mitigation Mitigation Loss of job opportunities of Negative High Moderate to High employees of Koffiefontein Mine The downscaling of mine-related Negative High High and mine-dependent businesses The loss of service benefits and Negative High Moderate to High allowances of mine employees Summary of impacts on the socio-psychological well-being of the community at Koffiefontein Type of impact Status of the Significance of impact impact Without After mitigation Mitigation Loss of community identity and Negative Moderate Low increase in community isolation Increased deprivation, fatalism Negative High Low and negativity A decline in the general quality of Negative High Moderate to High life Upon mine closure, the Koffiefontein community will face a choice between adjusting to economic decline, or considering economic diversification. Economic diversification requires alternative local economic activities. However, meaningful economic diversification is difficult to achieve, and this will be even more difficult in a small and remote town such as Koffiefontein. It should further be borne in mind that Koffiefontein has limited potential to absorb the anticipated impacts and to diversify its economy. It is therefore important that the suggested mitigation strategies be evaluated in terms of the social, economic and physical constraints (Chapter 6) of the affected environment. vi The implementation of mitigating measures for the anticipated socio-economic impacts on the Koffiefontein environment is reflected in a social management and monitoring plan (Chapter 7). The process of monitoring and evaluation aims at determining whether predetermined activities are being implemented as planned, and includes the collection, organisation and analysis of data to determine the progress towards a specific goal. An institutional framework is suggested for the monitoring and evaluation plan. In essence, it entails the establishment of a Development Agency consisting of a wide range of stakeholders. In addition to the implementation of the suggested plan, four auxiliary institutional bodies should be established to be part of the Development Agency. These are the LED sub-committee, the Poverty alleviation sub-committee, the Education sub-committee and the Communication forum. The objectives set in the monitoring and evaluation plan operate at three different levels. The first level involves the development goal. The development goal describes the developmental benefits the respective target groups can reap from the programme. The second level pertains to the project goal/purpose. The project purpose describes the changes of the target groups with regard to behaviour, structures or capacity that may result from the utilisation of the deliverable outputs produced by the programme/project. The third level of objectives revolves around outputs. Outputs describe the goods and services (direct deliverables) that are contributed by the project or programme. For each output, various activities are developed. For this exercise, groups of activities have been clustered as strategies under each output, with main activities. The mitigating