ASX-listed Jupiter Mines continues to advance environment, social and governance (ESG) initiatives at its 49.9%-owned Tshipi manganese mine, in South Africa, alongside its partner Ntsimbintle Mining.

Jupiter CEO and MD Brad Rogers says ESG for the company is about real sustainability, genuine actions and continuing in a credible way the great work that is already occurring at the Tshipi mine.

ESG is increasingly important to all stakeholders, including employees, customers and investors. Jupiter is prioritising actions that have an ESG benefit, as well as a financial payback.

The company in April released its inaugural sustainability report outlining the company’s achievements in the last year, including dust monitoring, soil repurposing, water catchment capacity expansion and the company’s plans to install solar power at Tshipi and reduce emissions.

Although Rogers considers the business and the mine to already be an ethical and sustainable business, the company is now more transparent and communicative about its ESG efforts.

Tshipi CEO Ezekiel Lotlhare says the team at the mine is committed to decreasing emissions to as low as possible by managing greenhouse-gas emissions. Tshipi is also focused on advancing its dust monitoring and clean water monitoring programmes.

Importantly, he highlights that those emissions impacting on the environment will continue to be well managed.

Lotlhare points out that the company is improving its conveyor system to replace articulated dump trucks, fleet management and transport strategies, to ensure energy efficiency. He stresses the importance of continuous improvement, particularly on the green energy front, to be a leader on ESG in the mining industry. 

Among the company’s immediate efforts will be to install load cells on its loaders to ensure that trucks are filled to maximum capacity and used to the fullest.

Tshipi corporate affairs head Mpho Sadiki highlights that health, safety and wellbeing are paramount for the company and Tshipi, with the company introducing wellness strategies to enhance employees’ capabilities and help them manage their health proactively.

She explains that preventative healthcare includes the company supporting employees with spiritual, mental and physical wellbeing. Tshipi has a healthcare facility on site to assist in cases of emergency and chronic healthcare management.

“We know that when they are well, they bring their wholeness at work,” Sadiki adds.

Tshipi also strives to empower communities surrounding the mine, including through its broad-based black economic empowerment programme, social labour plan and the Tshipi mining charter programme.

Sadiki elaborates that, from a business perspective, Tshipi ensures that it has a pipeline of talent available and local businesses that procurement work can be allocated to. The company also ensures that communities’ primary social challenges are heard and resolved with positive impact.

Moreover, Tshipi stresses the importance of diversity on its board, and in management and workforce and advances this through an employment equity policy, board skill enhancement initiatives and a women-in-mining programme.

Rogers says these initiatives help ensure Tshipi’s mine management reflects the composition of the local community and that previously disadvantaged people and women in South Africa are provided opportunities to grow.

He adds that value generation remains central to Tshipi’s mission; the mine is refining supplier partnerships and managing risks to strengthen its investment approaches.

The mine and Jupiter will continue to advance various stakeholder relationships, refine its processes and plan sustainably for the future, Rogers says.

With Tshipi being one of the world’s largest manganese mines, it has generated a lot of value. In future, Jupiter wishes to replicate this success by acquiring other manganese mines in South Africa in a way that benefits people.

Rogers says the company aims to upgrade its manganese ore into electric vehicle battery-grade manganese to create even more value.

“We have a rare and blessed endowment of manganese that is going to run for a long time, we will be in the community for a long time, so it’s a great opportunity to be able to use that value that we will create not only for improving shareholder wealth but also delivering back to the community.”