Roundtables in 2005 and 2007
The 2007 Roundtable
The second International Roundtable on Sustainable Platinum Group Metals took place in Brussels on December 12, 2007.
The 2005 Roundtable
The first International Roundtable on Sustainable Platinum Group Metals took place in The Hague on December 12, 2005.
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The Goal of the Roundtable
The goal of the Roundtable is to find agreement on strategic questions related to Platinum Group Metals (PGM) as a basis for concrete actions towards more sustainable production and use of PGM that can be endorsed by relevant stakeholders.
Two Challenges
Future production and use of PGM will face two main challenges:
- open cycle
the open character of the PGM cycle
Recycling quotes of catalytic converters are dramatically low and many decommissioned cars end up in countries without any effective collection and recovery system. Valuable PGM resources are being lost continuously.
- unsustainable
production
the production of PGM has severe ecological and social impacts. The production of PGM is still causing considerable environmental damage at particular production sites, especially in Russia. Lack of community involvement is a problem in South Africa. Mining companies are working on this issue in dialogue with NGOs and community representatives.
Community Engagement in South African Platinum Mining
Agreement at the Roundtable
At the 2010 Roundtable (see below), Mary Jane Morifi (Anglo Platinum)
explained the way Anglo Platinum is working with host Communities. "We
aim to create and maintain strong and respectful relationships with the
communities of which we are a part." Critical comments were presented by
John Capel (Bench Marks Foundation). At the 2010 Roundtable, Anglo
Platinum and the Bench Marks Foundation signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU), in which they agreed to cooperate on practical
projects relating to the Community of Magobading.
Project Implementation Secured
The cooperation envisaged in the MoU was not realised as originally planned. Reinier de Man and Wouter Pronk were asked by the signatories to mediate in the problems and conflicts that had arisen. A mediation took place in August 2010 and resulted in a new definition of the parties' roles (See Executive Summary). Anglo Platinum announced to proceed with the implementation of the projects agreed in the MoU, whereas the Bench Marks Foundation would be more at a distance. Anglo Platinum and the Bench Marks Foundation agreed to share information on contracts between the mining company and the community members and to exchange information about the issues of representation of the Magobading community. The re-definition of the cooperation between the partners will prevent further conflicts and secure implementation of the project.
The 2010 Roundtable at Renault Guyancourt, April 8
The Roundtable in the Future
The Roundtable on the Sustainable Production and Use of Platinum Group metals was started as a project of Milieukontakt International and Reinier de Man. In the course of 2010, the Roundtable will be transformed into an independent organisation, most probably a Charity under Dutch Law (Stichting).
On April 8, 2010, the Third International Roundtable on the Sustainable Production and Use of Platinum Group Metals took place in France. It was hosted by Renault Technocenter in Guyancourt near Versailles..
At the centre of the Roundtable programme were the encouraging results of the Roundtable's cooperation with its South African partners. Representatives of Anglo Platinum and the Benchmarks Foundation gave presentations about community issues in South African platinum mining and signed the Memorandum of Understanding that was developed during the Roundtable's mission to South Africa.
Presentations and discussions about the potential for improved PGM recycling from used cars in Russia concluded this Roundtable meeting.