‘Listing on the JSE in May 2015 was an important milestone for the newly established metals and mining company South32 Limited’. These are the proud words of the Africa region president and COO Mike Fraser.

‘Our listing was the culmination of many months of hard work leading up to our demerger from BHP Billiton,’ he says. It truly symbolised our standing as an independent, stand-alone company.’

2015 has been a milestone year for South32, which listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, the JSE, the London Stock Exchange and the New York American Depository Receipts Programme. In August, South32 announced its inaugural annual results for the 2015 financial year. From its first day, South32 has stamped its mark as a significant, globally diversified metals and mining company, inheriting a portfolio of high-quality, well-maintained, cash-generative assets, which are competitively positioned on their respective industry cost or margin curves.

Supporting this, South32 has a strong balance sheet, underpinning BBB+ and Baa1 credit ratings from Standards & Poor’s and Moody’s respectively.

The company’s global mining and processing operations produce bauxite, alumina, aluminium, thermal and metallurgical coal, manganese ore and alloy, nickel, silver, lead and zinc, which are sold to a diverse range of domestic and international customers.

South32 gets its name from the connection with the 32nd parallel south that runs through its two primary regions of Australia and Southern Africa. Its head office is in Perth, Australia, with regional offices in Perth and Johannesburg, in addition to a marketing office in Singapore.

The Southern African operations are managed from the Johannesburg regional office, which is also where the company’s global shared services are located. The Southern African operations are located in SA and Mozambique and comprise Aluminium South Africa, Energy Coal South Africa, Manganese South Africa and Mozal. Within the region, South32 provides employment and sub-contracting support to more than 15 000 people.

Its manganese operations in Hotazel in the Northern Cape are situated in an area with the world’s largest known deposits of manganese ore.

‘Our listing was the culmination of many months of hard work leading up to our demerger from BHP Billiton’

Ore is accessed from the Wessels underground mine and the Mamatwan opencast mine.

The Energy Coal South Africa operations of South32 are located near the towns of eMalahleni and Middelburg. Its aluminium operations are located in Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal and Maputo, Mozambique.

Its Hillside operation is the largest aluminium smelter in the southern hemisphere, followed by the Mozal operation in Mozambique.

In SA, South32 is committed to the national transformation agenda as enacted by the BBBEE Act and the Mining Charter. This is important for both the stability of the country, its economic well-being and the sustainability of South32’s business.

With a lean management philosophy designed to reduce costs and increase productivity, South32 is focused on per-share financial performance rather than volume.

‘Our regional operating model, together with our relentless focus on safety, relationships and people, will enable us to deliver more efficient and productive operations, to become a best-in-class operator of our assets and, in doing so, deliver sector leading returns for our shareholders,’ says Fraser. ‘Our regional approach will also enable us to foster stronger relationships with our key stakeholders, particularly in Southern Africa, where for the first time we have one voice across the region for all stakeholders.

‘Importantly, we have a clearly stated purpose and values, which guide us in our day-to-day activities. These values – care, togetherness, trust and excellence – are embraced right across the organisation,’ he says.

South32’s purpose is to make a difference by developing natural resources, improving people’s lives now and for generations to come, and to be trusted by owners and partners to realise the potential of their resources.

Looking ahead, Fraser says the company will be focused on three core areas: optimising the performance of existing assets; maximising the potential of the South32 portfolio; and identifying new options to compete for capital. ‘We have achieved a lot in our short history,’ he says. ‘We’ve really hit the ground running.’

South32 is listed on the JSE and trades as ‘S32’. Visit www.south32.net for more information on the company.

6 Hollard Street, Marshalltown
Johannesburg, 2001
PO Box 61820, Marshalltown, 2107
Tel: +27 (0)11 376 9111
www.south32.net