Creating stakeholder value
Exxaro aims to build long-term, stable, mutually beneficial relationships with stakeholders,
supported by our holistic engagement approach. Our engagements enable us to better
understand, manage and respond to material risks and concerns, protect our licence to
operate and create shared value.
Our approach to meaningful stakeholder engagement
We believe creating value for both our stakeholders and ourselves is important. Regular and ad hoc in-person engagements, social impact
assessments and surveys inform our understanding of our social impact and stakeholders’ needs and interests.
This section describes our stakeholder management through our ERM framework lens.
Refer to the stakeholder-inclusive approach section of the ESG report for more information about our stakeholder
engagement approach. It details our key stakeholder relationships, the nature and quality of our relationships with strategic
stakeholder groups and our responses to their concerns.
Stakeholder universe
Our ERM process and project workshops identify and analyse our stakeholders, assessing how our activities impact them and how
they impact our ability to deliver on our strategy, contribute to our ESG performance and address risks. We categorise our
stakeholders into four key groupings (government, business, communities and value chain participants) and identify relevant
engagement objectives and strategies as required.
Government
- Government
departments
- Local government
- Political parties
- Provincial government
- District municipalities
- Regulators
Business
- NGOs
- Media
- Professional industry
bodies
- Other mining
organisations
- Universities
- Financial community
- Non-profit organisations
Communities
- Local media
- Faith-based
organisations
- Taxi association
- Farmers and landowners
- Other mining companies
- Local SMMEs
- Local leadership
- Local schools
- Traditional leaders
Value chain participants
- Unions
- Investors/shareholders
- Strategic and other
suppliers
- Partners
- Sponsors
- Customers
- Employees
Assessing engagement effectiveness
Engagement effectiveness is assessed by Exxaro’s board and executive committee, which are responsible for stakeholder management
and engagement. We measure perceptions of our engagement performance as part of periodic stakeholder surveys.
We also measure the quality of our relationships with our stakeholders through self-assessments.
Material engagements in 2024
While we engage regularly with multiple stakeholders, this section focuses on engagements most material to value creation and
preservation with the following stakeholders:
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TFR Operating Company and Transnet Rail Infrastructure
Manager |
Engagement purpose Collaborate in finding solutions to improve logistics.
Our risks and opportunities
Stakeholder expectations and issues
- Due to Transnet’s financial challenges and the state of rail infrastructure
as a result of prolonged underinvestment, support from the private sector
is required in terms of funding
- Collaboration on initiatives to improve rail freight volumes
Material themes
Strategic objectives
Key engagements and outcomes
- Cooperation improved noticeably in 2024, with constructive engagements between the chief coal operations officer and general
manager marketing and logistics, and TFR CEO and chief commercial officer
- Our continued support of the National Logistics Crisis Committee focuses on improving rail performance by addressing issues such
as security and resource availability
- Negotiations for a new long-term agreement/contract continue
- Weekly and monthly meetings at an operational level regarding coal line performance and commercial matters
Eskom remains a key Exxaro customer. In 2024, Exxaro attributed 72% of coal sales (per product tonnes) to
Eskom. Long-term agreements with Eskom at Matimba and Medupi place the coal business in a defensive
position. We engage regularly in light of Eskom’s challenges.
Our risks and opportunities and manufactured capital
Stakeholder expectations and issues
- Quality, consistent and reliable product supply of coal
- Engagement on coal demand and supply, in accordance with CSAs
Material themes
Strategic objectives
Key engagements and outcomes
- Annual strategic and coal requirement engagements regarding Medupi and Matimba CSAs
- Regular planning and operational alignment engagements at Grootegeluk concerning Matimba and Medupi CSA contracts and at
Matla regarding the Matla CSA
Align employees’ focus with our health and safety strategy and culture for competitive advantage and resilient
business performance.
Our risks and opportunities and human capital
Stakeholder expectations and issues
- Health and safety standards
Material themes
Strategic objectives
Key engagements and outcomes
- Regular engagements include management’s VFL tours at BUs, the annual CEO safety summit and leadership safety day, BU safety
indabas, operational mass meetings, safety stand-downs, Toolbox Talks and safety communications via LED screens, emails and
notice boards
- Engagements focus on management’s efforts to reduce the LTIFR by reinforcing the five safety focus areas. As a result, Exxaro
achieved zero fatalities and an improved LTIFR of 0.06 (2023: 0.07) against a target of 0.05
- During the CEO safety summit, supervisors highlighted challenges that hinder their ability to perform their duties effectively, resulting
in the roll-out of various initiatives
- Exxaro conducts ongoing safety training (including risk management, safety for supervisors and legal liabilities), which improves the
quality of hazard identification and risk assessments
- Engaging with employees through XXoro, our new AI solution, which simplifies safety policies through explanations in four languages
We aim to build relationships and grow our understanding of community needs to enable collaboration and
successfully deliver socio-economic development projects. Engagements enable us to proactively resolve
concerns raised by communities and avoid protest action. We aim to communicate how we create shared value
through local employment and procurement, community development initiatives, skills development and ESD.
Our risks and opportunities and social and relationship capital
Stakeholder expectations and issues
- Our communities expect Exxaro to employ, uplift and empower locally to enable
South Africa’s socio-economic development. There are ongoing expectations
for procurement opportunities, while infrastructure development is also
important
- Issues include lack of skills and youth not meeting basic recruitment
requirements, hindering their access to employment opportunities
Material themes
Strategic objectives
Key engagements and outcomes
- In Q4 2024, the Human Rights Commission summoned Exxaro and other mining houses in Limpopo to an inquiry on human rights
violations in mining communities. The inquiry was also attended by the DMRE, municipalities, office of the premier, and the
universities of Limpopo and Venda. We presented our commitment to protect and uphold the human rights of employees and all
people in our sphere of influence. In addition, we provided an update on our SLP implementation relating to our Limpopo mines
- Cooperating with the legal process underway regarding the black lung class action suit
- Exxaro’s municipal capacity building programme in partnership with the National Business Initiative in Limpopo ended in 2024
- We engaged with various traditional councils in 2024, including the Ga Seleka Traditional Council in Lephalale and others in Delmas
and eMalahleni, as well as with Tshikondeni Legacy Project Community representatives. We are collaborating with some of these
councils to address issues such as youth unemployment
- We continue engagements around the minerals succession programme to strengthen the ecosystem of offtakers and funding
institutions to complement Exxaro’s funding for emerging farmers
- BUs host quarterly stakeholder engagement forums to resolve issues at a local level and address ongoing issues such as employment,
youth training and procurement opportunities
- We engaged with affected stakeholders regarding stoppages at Leeuwpan due to protests, the Belfast relocation project and the
Leeuwpan housing relocation project
- We conducted workshops at mines in closure about Exxaro’s ESD programme, with increased awareness causing requests for funding
from small businesses
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Government, regulators, communities and investors |
Proactive engagement supports our efforts to drive business resilience and manage risk. Exxaro plays a
proactive role in finding solutions to socio-economic challenges and contributes to shaping government policies
by collaborating and partnering with government.
Our risks and opportunities, our sustainable growth and impact strategy, social and relationship capital
Our social impact
Stakeholder expectations and issues
- A key issue for South Africa is the role of big businesses in solving broader
societal issues
- Government expects mines to plan for post-mine closure, job creation and
broader community upliftment and to manage water responsibly, minimise
environmental impacts and overcome climate change issues
- Customers and suppliers expect integrity and ethics in the business relationship
- Investors expect to understand Exxaro’s value proposition and position on
issues such as climate change, South Africa’s energy transition, transformation,
and socio-economic development
- We aim to build and maintain strategic partnerships that support the
Sustainable Growth and Impact strategy
- The regulator expects compliance with standards and regulations and regular
reporting
- All stakeholders desire effective communication on plans, strategies, financial
and ESG performance, as well as assurance of compliance with authorisations
and regulations
Material themes
Strategic objectives
Key engagements and outcomes
- Government and communities
- Ongoing consultation and collaboration around socio-economic development initiatives and communication on progress of
implementation
- Investors and other stakeholders:
- Transparent and honest disclosure
- Improving compliance and risk mitigation through accurate financial reporting of audited statements
- Business and board:
- Ongoing implementation of the Sustainable Growth and Impact strategy
- Regulatory bodies:
- Quarterly reporting as required
- The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) was the focus of regulatory engagements in 2024 with the mature relationship
resulting in the following successes:
- Receiving an amended water use licence (WUL) for the Mokolo Crocodile Water Augmentation Project
- The out-of-court settlement of the Matla WUL renewal matter and positive engagements regarding design proposals to facilitate
the Mafube WUL
- Well received proposals to investigate alternative solutions for the decant of water from the Durnacol mine in closure, which carries
a high reputation risk as the water decanting impacts municipal water supply to a large community in northern KwaZulu-Natal
- Proactively engaging with the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) regarding the renewal of the Matla
waste management licence to operate brine ponds
- Proactively engaging with the:
- DWS and DFFE on water issues at our Hlobane mine in closure
- DMRE* on the renewal of our Matla mining right
- DWS and DMRE on discard dumps
- Processing requests for information through the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (Act 2 of 2000) and managing these
IR