Rustenburg, November 2022– An impactful, mutually beneficial and outcomes-based engagement platform has been established by Impala Rustenburg and 14 mine host community business forums, with the objective of strengthening relationships between Impala and the local business community.

The Impala Mine Host Community Business Forum Engagement Platform is a legitimate and recognised structure that will enable business forums to build trust and improve stakeholder relations, which in turn will sustain operational stability.

The engagement platform will provide the local business forums with information on inclusive preferential procurement opportunities, enterprise and supplier development (ESD) initiatives, and social and labour plan procurement (LED) opportunities. The engagement platform will also facilitate Impala’s updates and progress reports on procurement spent to the business forums, and provides a structure for Impala to receive feedback from mine host community business forums.

Comments Neo Kgaje from Mine Host Community Business Forum (MHCBF) representing the collective of 14 business forums, “We believe that this is a promisingopportunity for our business forums to build a positive relationship with Impala, and an opportunity to change the narrative on the relationship between mining companies and local business forums.   We look forward to building a two-way engagement platform where recommendations and proposals are put forward to enable positive outcomes that will impact the local economy in a manner that is inclusive, transformative and progressive in nature.

Mark Munroe, Chief Executive at Impala Rustenburg, said: “Impala Rustenburg’s commitment to the development of SMMEs in our mine communities is demonstrated through our investment in numerous impactful initiatives that form part of our socio-economic development plan, which assists mine-community small, medium, and micro business owners to formalise their businesses. We provide a five-day training programme and an intensive 12-month ESD training programme, which has benefitted 400 SMMEs since our ESD initiatives launched in 2021. This year, we also launched an Economic Inclusion Centre that is open to SMMEs across all our mine communities and is designed to provide a place for mine community SMMEs to gain assistance with formalising their businesses, access short courses and use the various business facilities available at the centre.”

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For more information, please contact: Aimee de Bruyn
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
T:  014 569 6581
M: +27  72 379 1138

About Impala
Impala Platinum (Pty) Limited is 96% owned by Impala Platinum Holdings Limited (Implats) and is its primary operational unit, employing more than 43 000 people. The Impala Rustenburg operations are situated on the Western Limb of the world-renowned Bushveld Complex near Rustenburg in South Africa and comprise a multi-shaft mining complex and concentrating and smelting plants. Impala’s base and precious metal refineries are situated in Springs, east of Johannesburg.

Holding Company, Implats, contributes approximately 20% to annual global primary PGM production and employs more than 57 000 people across its operations in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Canada. The Group maintains a primary listing on the JSE in South Africa, a secondary listing on South Africa’s A2X, and a level one American Depositary Receipt programme in the US. Implats has total attributable resources of 269 million 6E ounces and attributable mineral reserves of 55.7 million 6E ounces – 6E refers to five PGMs (platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium and osmium), as well as the associated gold found in PGM-bearing ore. The metals produced by Implats are key to making many essential industrial, medical and electronic items — and they contribute to a cleaner, greener world.

Munroe continues: “The Mine Host Community Business Forum Engagement Platform is aimed at fostering a spirit of collaboration and ensuring the socio-economic well-being of Impala mine-community SMMEs. Two-way communication is the cornerstone of good stakeholder relations and is essential to ensure that all parties derive the benefits of procurement opportunities, ESD programmes and other initiatives. We are excited to further open the channels of communication with the SMMEs in our mine communities - and to work together to improve the future of Rustenburg.”