COO's Message | Edition 013
Canyon Coal COO Clifford Hallatt
We are a forward-looking company. I am pleased that events that unfolded throughout 2023 helped us to progress in that trajectory across different areas of the Canyon Coal business. We experienced noteworthy advancements in our operations and managed to maintain our commitments to our host communities.
The skills training programme that has resulted in 41 young people from Gugulethu’s host communities getting permanently employed at the mine was an indication of our distinct ability to transform lives for the better. The successful execution of the training programme came just in time for the newly appointed ADT, dozer, and excavator operators to play a role in producing Gugulethu’s first washed coal in the new year. Khanye Colliery performed exceptionally well, producing a record 267 062 tonnes Run-of-Mine (RoM) coal in August 2023 and reaching 2167 fatality free days. We commend our site team for their dedication.
Our parent company Menar signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Huawei and MTN in preparation for the possible installation of 5G technology at Gugulethu. We have seen the benefits of having such technology at Phalanndwa Colliery and look forward to implementing it at Gugulethu.
The company’s community outreach efforts also progressed well. Khanye hosted a successful Social and Labour Plan public participation roadshow attended by more than 1500 people which was followed by an equally impactful Procurement Day workshop for local businesses. These public forums allow us to engage in constructive discussions with our community stakeholders. Canyon also welcomed the company’s first woman Engineer, Ndivhuwo Rachel Makahane. Empowering women in mining and supporting transformation in the industry forms part of our growth imperatives.
Mulwane Investments, one of our local suppliers at Khanye, also stirred a sense of hope in us by staying with the course for the past five years. This youth-owned company started their journey with only two machines, and have expanded their business, putting a spotlight on the importance of local enterprise development. There are exciting projects ahead for the year. We anticipate that production at Gugulethu will take place at full scale in 2024, owing to the hard work done in 2023 to develop the site. We also look forward to the mining license for Bekezela being granted, so we can commence with developing this mega project that is anticipated to create an estimated 800 jobs. The Thuso mining project in Bethal, is now fully licensed and ready for development. We will be putting in a lot of effort in making sure that Thuso along with all our projects for the year fall into place.
