Glencore and Anglo American Platinum are among the companies working with South Africa’s government on a R27-billion project to supply water to major platinum and chrome operations and hundreds of thousands of people in the country, Mining Weekly reported.
Mining companies are expected to provide half of financing by the end of the year with the rest of the funds to be sourced by municipalities and the government.
The companies are in talks with about 10 local and international banks for funding. The project stretches for about 170 kilometers across Limpopo province in northeast South Africa and is expected to be completed by 2030.
“This could get a new model into South Africa where government is acting as the regulator and the private entities in partnerships with governmental institutions do more of the work on the ground,” said Bertus Bierman, chief executive officer of the Lebalelo Water Users Association . “We would like to get construction started early next year.”
Lebalelo plans to build 400 kilometers of pipelines and will supply 250 million liters of water a day, about a third of the consumption of Cape Town, which has more than four million inhabitants. Water will also be supplied to people in the city of Polokwane and Mookgophong, a town north of Johannesburg.
Theodor Lisovoy, Editor in Chief of the European bureau, Rough&Polished
