Incorporation of the socio-cultural dimension into strategic long-term planning of mineral assets in South Africa

Extraction of minerals and metals has had, and continues to have, material impacts on society. These impacts can be positive, enabling technological innovation and stimulating economic development, as well as negative, such as environmental and social impacts. The inability to effectively manage these impacts throughout the life of mine (LoM) plan can trigger socio-cultural risks. In fact EY (formerly Ernst & Young) have ranked the social licence to operate as one of the top five risks to the mining sector globally since 2008 (EYGM, 2016). Strategic long-term planning for mineral assets enables delivery of an optimized, strategically aligned business plan from a mineral asset portfolio using a set of tools and techniques with a common language, standards, systems, and processes to align decisions and actions on a cyclical basis. The framework provides the basis for effective management of large, diverse, and complex mineral asset portfolios while creating shared understanding and a common language. It is an approach that acknowledges the nature of the depleting mineral asset base, the importance of a defined but flexible project pipeline, variability in market conditions, and the requirements of the operating legislative environment. However, effective integration of social and environmental considerations into strategic and project planning still remains a challenge for the industry, where social performance considerations manifest predominantly as constraints rather than as optimization objectives. This paper considers the inherent opportunities and challenges in the effective integration of social performance issues into strategic long-term planning for mineral assets in South Africa. It also sets out Anglo American's approach to integrating socio-cultural issues into LoM and resource development planning (RDP) to ensure that operations are able to secure and maintain an effective social license to operate (SLTO) as well as deliver a lasting positive contribution to local communities.