Palabora Mining : 30 Suppliers to get opportunities at Palabora Copper

Palabora Copper (Pty) Limited

Registered in the Republic of South Africa, 1 Copper Road Phalaborwa, 1389. Registration No 2007/033694/07

VAT No. 4950252124; Employer's Tax Ref. No. 7430771826; Income Tax Ref. No. 9193800167

P O Box 65

Phalaborwa

1390

Telephone: [phone]

Facsimile: [phone]

Ref No: PC-SDP/002-'14

PRESS STATEMENT Region: Limpopo Province, Phalaborwa 13 May 2014 Thirty black-owned suppliers from Ba-Phalaborwa community to get opportunities at Palabora Copper

 Palabora Copper confirms that is has got thirty locally black owned local SMME's to start accessing opportunities with the mine though the supplier development programme

 Palabora Copper is moving beyond the compliance as we want to create the greater good for the community as transformation is more than complying with regulations

Palabora Copper confirms that through its Supplier Development Programme initiated during the last quarter of 2013, it has finally selected the thirty candidates who will be part of the programme for the next two years. According to Corporate Affairs General Manager and Company Secretary, Keith Mathole, the SDP is aimed at creating opportunities for locally black-owned businesses to become suppliers to mine and other related business. "Part of the SDP included identifying opportunities within the business that could be matched to the selected companies and we've made a significant progress," Mathole enthused.

"South Africa, like many parts of the world's developing economies, the biggest employers are small and medium sized companies and Palabora Copper has a significant role to play
in our economy as this will also increase the level of employment and the livelihood of our

Directors:

Clifford N Zungu (Chairman) , Nhlanhla Hlubi, Ray Abrahams, Francine A du Plessis, Peter Ward, George M Negota, Jie Yan#, Ng Tze For (Alternate)^, Jinghua Han^#,

Katinka Schumann, Dikeledi L Nakene# (Chief Financial Officer)

Company Secretary: Keith N Mathole

#Executive Director ^Chinese Director

Registered with the Department of Higher Education - Registration N0 2010/FEo6/006

MS9-TMP-384 Rev. 05

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people. This is part of the various initiatives Palabora has undertaken to benefit local
people," he said.
The SDP is an initiative of Palabora Copper currently being rolled out conjointly with
Palabora Foundation as the community execution partner.
Officially launched on 24 October, local businesses had until 24 November, 2013 to register their companies. Palabora Foundation Director, Malesela Letsoalo says that 417 companies registered to be part of the programme. And of those, 217 companies were validated. The validation criteria included the verification of the enterprises' registration with Companies and Intellectual Property Commission, demonstration of residence in Ba- Phalaborwa Municipality as well as the core offerings of these businesses.
Letsoalo further indicated that in selecting the applicants for further interviewing the criterion used included the number of years the company has been in existence, the number of people employed, and the demonstrated understanding of the business offering. "We've shortlisted and interviewed 167 businesses, from which 30 enterprises were selected," he said.
The SDP has the potential of creating a booming local manufacturing and services industry that will sustain the community beyond the mining sector period," maintains Mathole," adding that "this will significantly boost our BBBEE reporting and the compliance with the Department of Mineral Resources Mining Charter. Mathole went on to say that Palabora Copper is moving beyond the compliance as "we want to create the greater good for the community as transformation is more than just complying with the regulations."
Explaining how it is going to work, Mathole said these potential suppliers will have to meet all the quality, health and safety related standards of Palabora Copper before they are introduced to the available opportunities and allowed to work on our sites. "We've also put together various support programs in place to support our local suppliers as well as the Business Incubation Centre located at Palabora Foundation to assist them."
Concluding, Mathole said; "Palabora Copper values its continuing relationship with the surrounding communities of Ba-Phalaborwa, and we are hopeful that this programme will be a success and bring more empowerment to our local people."

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Beyond the SDP, Palabora Copper remains open to local business people and entities can through the local-wise portal http://palabora.localwise.co.za

ENDS Note to the Editor about Palabora Copper (Pty) Limited

Palabora Copper (Pty) Limited (Palabora) is a copper mine, smelter and refinery complex based in the town of Phalaborwa, in South Africa's Limpopo Province. The mine owes its origins to a unique rock formation in the region known as the Palabora Igneous Complex.

Palabora has been operational since its incorporation in 1956 and is the country's only producer of refined copper, producing approximately 80 000 tonnes per year. Operational since its incorporation in 1956, Palabora Copper is South Africa's sole producer of refined copper, which it supplies mainly to the local market and export the balance. Whilst copper forms the base-load of its business, Palabora also mines and exports other by-products such as Magnetite, Vermiculite Sulphuric acid, anode slimes and nickel sulphate.

More than a mine

Located directly adjacent to the world-renowned eco-tourism attraction, the Kruger National Park, Palabora coordinates several onsite wildlife management and cultural heritage programmes as part of its ongoing sustainability drive. The company also collaborates closely with various communities in the Ba-Phalaborwa district to boost economic development and alleviate poverty.

MEDIA CONTACT PERSON

Hulisani Nemaxwi
Manager: Corporate Affairs
Corporate Affairs Department
Email: [e-mail]
Office: 015 780 2019
Cell: 071 633 6096