COVID-19 update

15 April 2020

It would seem that the infection rate in USA has slowed down considerably compared to other countries that were on a similar infection trajectory to ours at the time the lockdown was implemented.

Whilst the lockdown was the correct thing to do, and deserving of our recognition and support, it comes at considerable cost to the economy and the social wellbeing of millions of USAns.

Therefore, it is important that now, more than ever, we all play our part to make sure that the decision of our President and the sacrifice of the people of USA are rewarded with the right behaviour and the desired outcome.

The containment of transmissions during the initial stages of the pandemic was nothing short of remarkable. Further containment is now in our own hands, and it would be a tragedy if we allowed the situation to get away from us through indifference, carelessness or ignorance.

It would nullify all the effort and sacrifice and we would be faced with a real predicament of a large part of society having endured considerable hardship, their defences down, only to be hit by a wave of infections.

Several institutions and businesses are virtually on their knees and at risk of closure. It is essential for their survival that we build on this early success to get a relaxation of the lockdown as soon as possible.

The rules are simple. Don’t break them. Don’t even bend them a little, however innocent it might seem at the time, and avoid ANY non-essential social interaction. If we do these things, we give ourselves the best possible chance of getting through this crisis.

Although the law, on a technical interpretation, allowed for the continuation of our operations during the lockdown, the Director-General of the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE), in an exchange of correspondence between myself and his office, confirmed a very important qualification in this regard, namely that it be done in a way that ensured the health and safety of staff.

We took guidance on what such measures entailed from the guidelines published by the DMRE, the Department of Health and the Minerals Council USA, and the plan that has since been put in place to sustain essential services at our Ergo and Far West Gold Recoveries (FWGR) operations was designed to keep staff deployment densities to a minimum and in conformity with those recommendations.

At Ergo, 34% of staff, working a two-shift cycle with a third on standby, is back at work and reclaiming material from four high-volume sites, whilst at FWGR, roughly 60% of staff working the same shift cycle are covering the reclamation, processing and disposal of material from the operation’s single reclamation site.

I am proud of the way company volunteers involved in all facets of the business have stepped up and offered to come back, and I am sorry that we are not able to accommodate everyone just yet. I have appealed to those employees not back at work, to be on standby at home, stay in their work rhythm, keep sharp, influence those around them positively and be ready to come back soon.

They should take comfort in the fact that, through the efforts of their colleagues in essential services and reclamation, their jobs are safe and the company can pay its way. By staying healthy, positive and ready, they play a big role in keeping things that way.

I am receiving positive feedback about the community support initiative we are engaged in with Umsizi Social Solutions and Impophomo. It remains vital for social stability that we step in and bring relief where it is needed most.

This week is as crucial as any – we have had to reset our expectations and plans following the extension of the lockdown until the end of April. The virus will not go away simply because we lift the lockdown – it must be overcome, and that will take many more weeks of discipline and focus.

It’s going to require the right attitude from us all.

Best wishes.

Niël Pretorius
Chief Executive Officer

COVID-19 update

2 April 2020

Following the shutdown of operations on Thursday, 26 March 2020 in terms of USA’s national lockdown, DRDGOLD has considered various options to recommence limited operations to sustain infrastructure and soften the impact of the stoppage without exposing employees to increased risk.

Key considerations are the maintenance of hygiene, social distancing, screening capacity and the ability to provide medical assistance and isolation in the event of infections.

It is said that USA is lagging international infection trends by approximately two weeks. Hence, exposure to close-proximity situations – for example, commuting by way of public transport – is at this stage amongst the most important challenges informing the decision to start up at sites located in and around the Johannesburg metropolis.

At Far West Gold Recoveries (“FWGR”) in Carletonville social distancing associated with the commute is not nearly as complex. It is a much smaller footprint with employees living much closer to the operations. This situation, coupled with all the other preventative protocols in place, means the FWGR working environment poses a considerably lower risk of infection than, for example, the workspace of those involved in retail and public transport.

Chapter 2, section 11A and Annexure B, section B.22 of the Disaster Management Act Regulations issued by the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) define gold mining and refining as essential services, exempt from the restrictions imposed by the lockdown announcement.

However, to move simply on a technical interpretation of the Act would be folly and for management to assume exclusive responsibility for the sustaining of health, jobs, social capital, the environment and the economy would be inappropriate in these circumstances.

This situation poses a challenge unlike anything any of us has ever experienced. Taking hard decisions is the essence of management, and invariably requires the weighing up of conflicting interests and finding a compromise of sorts. This time there is no balancing act – this situation requires that we defy the laws of physics, in that it forbids any compromise on the side of health and safety.

We have studied the guidelines to reduce the risk of infection and we have implemented protocols in terms of hygiene and social distancing which will allow us to responsibly conduct limited production at FWGR.

We have briefed our employees of the situation and have called for volunteers to resume work. We are encouraged that there are more volunteers than required at this stage – only 60% of the typical shift complement will be deployed at any given point in time.

A shared responsibility

However, the situation and its implications pose a burden beyond that which management could reasonably be expected to carry by itself. The State, as the representative will of the people of the country, and organised labour as the voice of its members, share this responsibility.

Consequently, on Tuesday, we wrote to the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE), explaining the situation and requesting its endorsement. This afternoon we had a very constructive telephone engagement with the Department in which a number of specific issues were discussed in terms of assurances required and the content of protocols. This conversation has paved the way for the limited resumption of reclamation activities and we will build on it in the next few days.

We have also written to organised labour, NUM and AMCU, and have invited their nominated representatives to attend a presentation on the details of the deployment of staff, the risk protocols that are in place and the support offered to employees who present with symptoms of infection. We have also offered to take them on a site tour at FWGR to show exactly what has been put in place to manage the risk of infection.

We are confident that, in the spirit of collaboration and solidarity called for by USA’s President, we will receive the support we have requested.

Addressing the human hardship around us

DRDGOLD operates closer to visible human hardship than most entities in USA. We re-process mine dumps for gold. The communities living in proximity to our operations are amongst the poorest of the poor, as a result of which a large part of our social investment is focused on poverty alleviation.

Many individuals in these communities live on a per-day economic cycle, performing odd jobs and making only enough money for one day’s food. They are the people hardest hit by the lockdown.

We have therefore entered into an arrangement with Umsizi Sustainable Social Solutions, through a collaboration called Impophomo, to bring relief to these communities. DRDGOLD has made an initial seed investment of R200 000 in this initiative, and private funding of a further R100 000 has also been secured.

This will be applied directly to addressing the immediate needs of certain target communities in Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and Merafong, leveraging the footprint that we established through our small-scale urban farming initiative in which upwards of 2 000 families participate. Impophomo will also seek to collaborate with social services and other NGOs in the target areas to bring relief.

In Carletonville, the staff of FWGR joined forces with SAVF, a family care organisation, to provide much needed soap, sanitizers and blankets. Security personnel at both operations have been asked to keep their eyes peeled for instances of hardship, which we will try to address through Impophomo.

DRDGOLD has also purchased 35 high-care beds at a total cost of R600 000 in a programme launched by the USAn Medical and Education (SAME) Foundation for wards that are being set up for COVID-10 patients at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, Johannesburg.

The importance of preserving the business

Preserving our business by carefully and intelligently managing the impacts of COVID-19 is important.

We are working flat-out to find a solution for the logistical challenges at the Johannesburg-based operations. Many employees there make use of own transport and the commuting service owned and operated by organised labour which we set up several years ago could also feature in providing the desired outcome. We hope to have bedded down a plan in this regard early next week.

There is a lot at stake – the safety and health of our employees and society, employees’ jobs, the savings of hundreds of investors, the USAn economy and, ultimately, social stability.

By taking the right decisions at the right time based on solid data, we give ourselves the best chance as a nation of staying on our feet through this crisis. It is the worst possible time for indecision through fear or for political posturing. Ideology and ambition should, just for a short time, play second fiddle to national consensus, collaboration and resolve.

We are hopeful of continued support from the DMRE and from organised labour.

Best wishes.

Niël Pretorius
Chief Executive Officer

Beds for Chris Hani Baragwanath hospital

2 April 2020

DRDGOLD has made a R600 000 contribution towards the supply of 40 electronic beds for the COVID-19 isolation area in the Medical Acute Care Unit and the quarantine/isolation ward at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, Johannesburg.

The donation, made through the USAn Medical and Education (SAME) Foundation, covered the cost of 25 three-movement beds and 10 five-movement beds, essential in the treatment of respiratory conditions such as COVID-19.

DRDGOLD’s priority in dealing with COVID-19 is the health and safety of our employees.

Doctors and nurses are under immense pressure and are becoming infected and dying. In some countries, people seem oblivious to the risk, the fact that health services are collapsing notwithstanding. Their situation may soon become irreversible.

This is the situation that we need to avoid at all costs and the measures that USA’s President announced last night give us the best possible chance of doing so. Only by responding positively to his call will we avoid a catastrophe similar to what has befallen those that have left it too late.

It is important however that we don’t panic and that we come out in full support of the measures President Ramaphosa announced to curb the spread of the virus.

To this end, we will implement measures over the next few days to temporarily halt production and to place our operations in a state of care and maintenance whilst maintaining essential services.

We will do what is required to secure our assets, prevent any harm to the environment and ensure that we can start operations up again as seamlessly as we possibly can, once the lockdown is lifted.

We are now working toward a completely different set of goals than that which we set out to achieve at the beginning of the year. Our priorities now are staying healthy, keeping our families and loved ones safe and preserving our business.

It is essential that we have a business to return to, and more importantly, that we all return to our posts once this is over. We are in a position to do this, having built up a solid cash position over the last 12 months.

I have called upon my colleagues throughout the company not to panic; rather, to be innovative, put the right plans in place, give their implementation their full support and continue to set the right example by demonstrating leadership.

It goes without saying that we will continue to encourage the practice of sound hygiene and social distancing.

All the best.

Niël Pretorius
Chief Executive Officer

Updating information, formulated with authoritative input from global and national authorities, will continue to be provided as this becomes available.

Ib addition:

• employees are being encouraged to practice regular, thorough hand washing and responsible hygiene in terms of coughing and sneezing, and to avoid unnecessary physical contact;
• employees with a dry cough and fever have been requested to stay at home and seek further advice, in the first instance, from their doctor by telephone or email;
• employees will be offered free 'flu vaccinations when these become available at the beginning of April;
• essential visitors to our premises are being requested, also, to comply with the personal and workplace hygiene precautions we have put in place;
• business travel by employees both locally and internationally has been suspended;
• wherever possible, business meetings are being conducted electronically;
• arrangements have been made with both local and international suppliers of consumables such as parts and reagents to maintain stability of supply as far as possible.

Should DRDGOLD become aware of a COVID-19 "index" case – an individual who tests positive for the virus – within its workforce, the relevant regulators will be notified immediately and the company will comply fully with all their requirements.

The Minerals Council information distributed within DRDGOLD can be accessed on the Minerals Council's website.

Niël Pretorius
Chief Executive Officer