As part of its Social Labour Plan commitments, Kumba Iron Ore’s Sishen Mine has successfully completed upgrades on a Bulk Water Scheme providing water security in villages located in the Joe Morolong Municipality.
Valued at R11 million, the project upgraded nine (9) boreholes across four villages of Sesipi, Perth, Kome and Tsiloane, delivering an average of 480 kl of water per day to residents. The project scope of work made provision for refurbishments to the steel pump houses, ancillary borehole pipework, electrical equipment and mechanical components which included diesel engines.
Nine boreholes will primarily run of solar power installations that have enough capacity to produce enough energy to run motors on a moderate speed in partly cloudy conditions while two of these are equipped with Eskom connections as a source of back power.
The construction work on Bulk Water Supply Scheme commenced in November 2023 in accordance with the Department of Water and Sanitation’s design criteria for Rural Community Water Supply and the guidelines for Human Settlement Planning and Design.
Projected to cater for over 6000 village residents, the scheme also presents an opportunity for the development of Government Subsidised Housing to be introduced to the area. Socio Economic Development Officer at Sishen Mine – Lester Pietersen, provides what the project means for the community.
“Access to drinking water and sanitation is a basic human right. Through the implementation of this Social Labour Project, Sishen Mine is living its purpose of reimagining mining to improve people’s lives and live up to its commitments to the UN’s SDG goals.
The Northern Cape is one of the water scarce provinces in South Africa and access to water and sanitation is a challenge for many communities in the region. The completion of the Bulk Water Supply Scheme is a great milestone and an innovative intervention to introducing sustainable water security to rural areas.
As an important pillar in our Sustainable Mining Plan, Thriving Communities is a key focus we continuously work towards and the completion of the project contributes to that”.
