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We have achieved our commitment to compliance with the MPRD Act by extending our existing black economic
empowerment structure with Khumo Gold. The new structure resulted in Khumo Gold acquiring, as a first step, a 15% interest in a
newly created vehicle, DRDGOLD SA, which holds 100% of ERPM, Crown and Blyvoor. Khumo Gold acquired an additional 5%
interest in DRDGOLD SA with the employee trust acquiring 6% in fiscal 2007. (See Item 4A.: “History and Development of the
Company”).
ine Health and Safety Regulation
The South African Mine Health and Safety Act, 1996 (as amended), or the Mine Health and Safety Act, came into effect in
January 1997. The principal object of the Mine Health and Safety Act is to improve health and safety at South African mines and to
this end, imposes various duties on us at our mines, and grants the authorities broad powers to, among other things, close unsafe
mines and order corrective action relating to health and safety matters. In the event of any future accidents at any of our mines,
regulatory authorities could take steps which could increase our costs and/or reduce our production capacity. There are amendments
to the act currently before parliament to ratify the stopping of production and increase punitive measures including increased financial
fines and legal liability of mine management. Four of the more important new provisions in the bill as approved by the Portfolio
Committee are a new section 50(7A) that obliges an inspector to impose a prohibition on the further functioning of a site where a
person’s death, serious injury or illness to a person, or a health threatening occurrence has occurred; a new section 86A(1) creating
a new offence for any person who contravenes or fails to comply with the provisions of the Mine Health and Safety Act thereby
causing a person’s death or serious injury or illness to a person. Subsection (3) further provides that (a) the “fact that the person
issued instructions prohibiting the performance or an omission is not in itself sufficient proof that all reasonable steps were taken
to prevent the performance or omission”; and that (b) “the defense of ignorance or mistake by any person accused cannot be
permitted”; or that (c) “the defense that the death of a person, injury, illness or endangerment was caused by the performance or an
omission of any individual within the employ of the employer may not be admitted”; a new section 86A(2) creating an offence of
vicarious liability for the employer where a Chief Executive Officer, manager, agent or employee of the employer committed an
offence and the employer either connived at or permitted the performance or an omission by the Chief Executive Officer,
manager, agent or employee concerned; or did not take all reasonable steps to prevent the performance or an omission. The
maximum fines have also been increased. Any owner convicted in terms of section 86 or 86A may be sentenced to “withdrawal or
suspension of the permit” or to a fine of R3 million or a period of imprisonment not exceeding five years or to both such fine and
imprisonment, while the maximum fine for other offences and for administrative fines have all been increased, with the highest
being R1 million.
Under the South African Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act, 1993 (as amended), or COID Act,
employers are required to contribute to a fund specifically created for the purpose of compensating employees or their dependants for
disability or death arising in the course of their work. Employees who are incapacitated in the course of their work have no claim for
compensation directly from the employer and must claim compensation from the COID Act fund. Employees are entitled to
compensation without having to prove that the injury or disease was caused by negligence on the part of the employer, although if
negligence is involved, increased compensation may be payable by this fund. The COID Act relieves employers from the prospect of
costly damages, but does not relieve employers from liability for negligent acts caused to third parties outside the scope of
employment. In fiscal 2008, we contributed approximately R9.8 million under the COID Act to a multi-employer industry fund
administered by Rand Mutual Assurance Limited.
Under the Occupational Diseases in Mines and Works Act, 1973 (as amended), or the Occupational Diseases Act, the multi-
employer fund pays compensation to employees of mines performing “risk work,” usually in circumstances where the employee is
exposed to dust, gases, vapors, chemical substances or other working conditions which are potentially harmful, or if the employee
contracts a
“compensatable disease,” which includes pneumoconiosis, tuberculosis, or a permanent obstruction of the airways. No
employee is entitled to benefits under the Occupational Diseases Act for any disease for which compensation has been received or is
still to be received under the COID Act. Currently the Group is compliant with these payment requirements, which are based on a
combination of the employee costs and claims made during the fiscal year.
Uranium and radon are often encountered during the ordinary course of gold mining operations in South Africa, and present
potential risks for radiation exposure of workers at those operations and the public to radiation in the nearby vicinity. We monitor our
uranium and radon emissions and believe that we are currently in compliance with all local laws and regulations pertaining to
uranium and radon management and that we are within the current legislative exposure limits prescribed for workers and the public,
under the Nuclear Energy Act, 1999 (as amended) and Regulations from the National Nuclear Regulator.
nvironmental Regulation
Managing the impact of mining on the environment is extensively regulated by statute in South Africa. Recent statutory
enactments set compliance standards both generally, in the case of the National Environmental Management Act, and in respect of
specific areas of environment impact, as in the case of the Air Quality Act 2004, the National Water Act (managing effluent), and the
Nuclear Regulator Act 1999. Liability for environmental damage is also extended beyond the corporate veil to impose personal
liability on managers and directors of mining corporations that are found to have violated applicable laws.