How does one give 5% of your mining shares to a mining community?

There are many new provisions in Mining Charter III and one of them has to do with the gifting of 5% shares to the community and 5% to employees. The latter is easy because ESOP’s are pretty standard. The logic aside, the criticisms aside, how does one administer 5% free equity to a community?

There is quite a good example of Kumba in Kathu where they had set up a Community Trust and by all accounts this is a success story.  This trust has many investments in the local area. But, to some extend that was simple, because Kathu is none other than a Kumba mining town.

Now let’s take the hundreds of sand and aggregate mines that are dotted in more metropolitan areas. How will they identify their communities? Or let’s take the case of a Burgersfort area where there must be at least 10 mining right holders. How would they do it?

On the one level, one could say, keep it simple. On another level, it’s never going to be simple. My experience of local communities is that they are often very divided, and that to achieve that broad-based consensus amongst all members will take time.

No to mention the legal and administrative costs of setting up Trusts and SPV’s to enact this.

Alas, solutions we must find.