An integral part of sustainable mining is the provision of services that extend beyond the physical mining right area and the life of mine. Human resources (HR), payroll, employee benefits and occupational health practitioners are often confronted with legacy challenges that existing service models are not equipped to resolve. While it is essential to address immediate issues, it is equally important to adopt strategic interventions that help future-proof mining operations and improve long-term outcomes for workers, employers and communities.

From bespoke mining HR solutions provider TEBA’s perspective, several critical interventions are essential to strengthen sustainable mining across the sector.

Unclaimed Benefits

One of the major contributors to unclaimed benefits is outdated member and beneficiary information.

Nomination and employee share trust record updates typically achieve only a 5% to 10% compliance rate across much of the workforce. Member education is an important part of improving this, but equally important is a seamless onboarding process that captures, updates and confirms information regularly across all literacy levels, languages and cultural preferences.

Accordingly, employees screened through TEBA each year are assisted to update beneficiary nominations electronically, while key supporting information is scanned and securely stored.

This information is then made available to clients and funds to support member engagement, tracing and the efficient payment of benefits.

Critically, the information remains available after employment, whether as an input for a new employer or as a resource for former employees and beneficiaries seeking to claim what is due to them.

Combined with TEBA’s tracing capabilities, these services help clients address legacy challenges while building stronger systems for the future.

Health

The mining industry has made significant progress over the past decade in the screening, identification and treatment of communicable diseases. However, two important challenges are emerging: a marked increase in chronic and lifestyle-related diseases, and growing pressure to support injured employees beyond the scope of current compensation frameworks.

Responses to chronic and lifestyle diseases may include employee wellness programmes, counselling and access to medical treatment. Yet occupational health practitioners still face the challenge of managing extended periods of leave and, where possible, supporting employees back into productive work. Through its home-based care programme, TEBA gives employers peace of mind by ensuring that individuals are linked to the appropriate healthcare facilities and that treatment is monitored in the comfort of their homes.

TEBA home-based care also supports clients in improving the living conditions of individuals affected by debilitating accidents. The service includes the construction of new structures or the upgrading of existing homes to accommodate the injured person. From needs identification to project management and implementation, TEBA delivers this service across five Southern African Development Community countries and around major mining communities.

Placement and Support Following Retrenchment

Given the cyclical nature of commodities and the wide range of minerals mined in South Africa, restructuring at one operation often coincides with recruitment at another. TEBA helps to balance skills surpluses and shortages by working with employers across both cycles to place affected employees efficiently. Its extensive footprint, fixed placement rates and digital candidate profiling tools enable faster matching of workers to new opportunities, helping employers retain scarce skills within the sector while supporting employees through the transition.

As a strategic partner to the mining industry, TEBA is committed to delivering practical, cost-effective and sustainable solutions that build on existing capabilities to create meaningful outcomes for employers, employees, their families and the communities in which they live. This commitment is grounded in a clear understanding that true sustainability in mining depends on long-term planning and continuity of care and support that extends well beyond the life of mine.