• SHE performance
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• Safety
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• Health & hygiene
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• Environmental management
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• ISO/OHSAS Certification

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

• Complying with all applicable environmental legislation
• Developing innovative policies and programmes for addressing environmental impacts.
  
  

One of the measures employed has been the use of a dedicated in-house environmental management specialist unit which was created as part of the SHE organisational structure to address environmental risks and impacts to enhance environmental legal compliance. This unit’s members include an airquality specialist, hydrologist, ecologist, environmental resource accountant, environmental compliance specialist, environmental impact assessment specialist and a geohydrologist.

• Water and waste management
• Air quality and climate change
• Biodiversity and land management
• Rehabilitation environmental liability management.

Water and waste management

Exxaro’s approach to water management is guided by South African environmental legislation (National Environmental Management Act, Minerals and Petroleum Resources Management Act, National Water Management Act). It is primarily focused on sustainable use of water, pollution control and avoidance.

Exxaro’s policy is to use appropriate measures at all operations to meet the intent of the law through site-specific water management plans. Our water treatment facilities ensure that water used in our operations meets legislated quality standards for all receiving environments or discharge areas.

Exxaro is also actively participating in industry investigations that will inform the overall direction of a water-management master plan and future water treatment plant investments. These include plants treating discharged mine water to meet industrial and potable water standards. A portion of the treatment costs will be recouped from benefiting municipalities that in turn supply this water to general users.

From a conservation perspective, reuse and reclamation ensure effective and beneficial use of scarce water resources and overall environmental protection. Reuse of waste water on a mine is preferred to potentially costly treatment schemes prior to discharge of effl uent in a water resource. For example, the new tailings disposal facility at Tshikondeni mine is contained within the discard dump which is continuously raised during construction to ensure adequate containment of the tailings discharge. The discard is transported mechanically using vehicles and compacted in 150mm layers to reduce the risk of spontaneous combustion. The tailings material is pumped into the
tailings facility (containment area) via HDPE pipes from the plant in slurry form and allowed to consolidate.

The new facility was formally designed and constructed according to accepted practice and in line with the industry norm, and allowance made for an internal drainage system with effl uent return infrastructure. The design was approved by all the necessary authorities and the fi nal closure elevation of the facility was agreed. By re-using the seepage, the mine is able to reduce the intake of raw (river) water, in turn decreasing water supply stress in this area.

Air quality management

• Blasting coal seams
• Spontaneous combustion of discard dumps
• Ore processing activities
• Wind erosion of exposed operational areas
• Vehicular dust from unpaved operational roads.

• improve energy efficiency by 15% within the next seven years
• minimise energy consumption and costs
• promote the use of energy-efficient equipment and designs
• understand and reduce our carbon footprint
• use and develop cleaner technologies, ie co-generation and renewable energy
• reduce emissions and participate in the carbon trading market.
  
  

• By the first quarter of 2008 we will have assessed and quantified the total carbon footprint for Exxaro
  
• Within the second quarter of 2008, targets and timeframes will be in place for all business units, and activities will begin
  
• By end May 2008 we will have submitted our co-generation proposal to Eskom, and can expect feedback by mid August
  
• By March 2008 we will start assessing energy efficiency levels throughout the group, as well as set goals and target dates.
  
  

Our vision is to become a zero carbon footprint company and we will benchmark this footprint against other companies in South Africa and globally.

Quantifying Exxaro’s carbon footprint began in 2007 using globally accepted standards such as ISO 14064-1. The exercise for our head office revealed that 80% of emissions stemmed from electricity use. Various initiatives are under way to educe our footprint and we will report on progress annually.

Actual data are presented in table below.

Biodiversity management

• Management and conservation of South Africa’s biodiversity
• Protection of species and ecosystems that warrant national protection
• Sustainable use of our indigenous biological resources.

Exxaro owned and managed land has significant biodiversity due to the wide geographical distribution of its operations (read more).

An example in this case is the Gariep Centre of Plant Endemism, where Rosh Pinah operations are situated. This forms part of the succulent Karoo region, considered as one of the earth’s 25 ‘hot spots’ – geographical areas which contain the world’s greatest plant and animal diversity. This area (Gariep Centre) has the richest variety of succulents on earth.

Exxaro is committed to conserve biodiversity and reduce the environmental impacts of its operations on biodiversity.

• Protection, conservation, monitoring and management of red data species
• Control, monitoring and management of alien invasive species
• Identification, protection and management of sensitive and highly biodiverse hot-spot ecosystems, including wetlands, pans and terrestrial ecosystems.

Various baseline studies on biodiversity within the business units have been compiled since 2006. Biodiversity studies were conducted at Glen Douglas, Grootegeluk, the new proposed Fairbreeze Extension C, Tshikondeni and New Clydesdale (table 2). The current approach to future developments is to include biodiversity studies prior to any development to ensure adequate impact mitigation on the biodiversity of new areas of development.

Table 2: Summary of status of biodiversity assessment per business unit

Figure G shows the position of the 590ha wetland area that will be undermined, the 2 365ha of adopted wetland that forms part of the wetland conservation areas, the non-channelled riparian wetland and the seasonally inundated channel valley bottom floodplain with footslope wetland.

The mining method, river diversion design and various management principles were therefore compiled to ensure the protection and conservation of the wetland, and biodiversity within the wetland.

• Advice on land-use options
• Land management (including conservation of land, natural resources and ecotourism)
  
• Land disposal and land reform advice
• Active participation in ongoing management of and advice throughout the life, cycle of the mine
  
• Risk mitigation – including land claims, settlement disputes and coordination of safety risks, response measures associated with land under management.
  
  

An example of Exxaro’s successful approach and responsible custodianship in managing land includes the endangered black rhino and rare cheetah in the
conservation project at Manketti Game Reserve adjacent to Grootegeluk mine.

The planned introduction of elephant into Manketti in 2008, and the synergy with the mine and local community, will transform this project into a conservation icon
and position Exxaro as the leader among responsible green mining companies.