Our community

We depend on sustainable communities. Creating value – both for ourselves and for the society around us – is a key element of the sustainability of our mining operations long into the future. Therefore, we help to create sustainable communities by finding solutions to local needs, building capabilities and improving quality of life through programmes, partners and people.

We strive to always be an active community partner. For this reason, we have invested substantial resources in community involvement activities over the years. Most of these resources are channelled through the Rössing Foundation, in addition to various community development projects and initiatives we support directly. Since the Foundation's inception in 1978, N$120 million has been spent in our corporate social responsibility programmes.
In 2010, a total amount of N$23 million was spent on the Rössing Foundation's activities, focusing on education, enterprise development and the Arandis Sustainable Development Project.

The support was offered through an interrelated series of shared interventions to help Arandis become a town of choice for current and future inhabitants and investors. The aim is that, through smart partnerships, the town's economic dependency on Rössing and the surrounding mines will be reduced.

External communications provide another important platform for contributing towards sustainable communities. Our donations and sponsorships (cash and in-kind) to our surrounding communities totalled nearly N$1.4 million in 2010.
However, our impact on the communities in which we operate stretches further than our financial contributions. Many people and businesses within the Erongo Region depend on us for their livelihoods. With our expanded mining operations, we have contributed directly and indirectly to employment creation in the region. The number of new businesses created in the region has steadily increased over the past few years, stimulated by our and other companies' exploration and mining activities.

As part of its commitment to support the communities in which we operate, the Rössing Foundation has established several libraries, such as the one at Arandis — a haven for young and old.