We present to you the Integrated Annual Report for the Merafe Group, which includes Merafe Resources Limited (Merafe), a company listed on the JSE, Merafe Ferrochrome and Mining Proprietary Limited (Merafe Ferrochrome) and its subsidiaries for the year ended 31 December 2023 (in this report referred to as "Merafe", the "Merafe Group" or "Group" or the "Company"). The scope of this report also includes the Glencore‑Merafe Chrome Venture (the Venture).
There has been no significant change in our size, structure or products since our previous Integrated Annual Report and there are no specific limitations on the scope or boundary of this report.
As we did last year, the 2023 summarised financial and sustainability information and the annual general meeting notice, will be sent to shareholders and the 2023 Integrated Annual Report will be available on our website. Printed copies of the Integrated Annual Report will be available on request from the Company Secretary.
We welcome the opportunity that an integrated approach to reporting offers us to break down reporting silos and provide a broader explanation of our performance, underpinned by a strategic focus, connectivity of information, a future orientation and an inclusive and responsible approach to stakeholders.
We use the capitals model (natural, human, social, manufactured and financial capital) for our reporting, as recommended in the International Integrated Reporting Committee's Integrated Reporting Framework, and by the King IV Report on Corporate GovernanceTM for South Africa, 2016 (King IV).
We depend on a variety of resources and relationships for our success. The extent to which we are depleting these or building them up has an important impact on the availability of the resources at our disposal and the relationships that support our long-term viability.
By seeing these resources and relationships in terms of "capital", the capital model provides us with a basis for understanding sustainability in terms of the economic concept of wealth creation or "capital" and encourages us to consider how wider environmental and social issues can affect our long-term profitability.
In addition to following the recommendations contained in King IV, The South African Code for the Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves (The SAMREC Code) 2016 Edition and the JSE Limited Listings Requirements, we are guided by the Global Reporting Initiative's (GRI) G4 Guidelines and our internally developed policies and procedures in terms of measuring our progress towards sustainability.
Deloitte & Touche audits the Merafe Group's consolidated and separate annual financial statements (in this report referred to as "annual financial statements").
Our annual financial statements are in compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), SAICA Financial Reporting Guidelines as issued by the Accounting Practices Committee and financial pronouncements as issued by the Financial Reporting Standards Council, and are drawn up in accordance with the Companies Act, No. 71 of 2008. A copy of our annual financial statements is available on our website.
An independent auditor's report is published in the annual financial statements. Our annual financial statements form part of our online Integrated Annual Report for 2023. They are also available from our Company Secretary in either electronic or printed format.
The data and information relating to the Venture is subject to the annual internal and external reviews, audits and processes of the Venture (set out in sustainability: internal and external reviews, audits and processes in this report) to ensure that the information relating to the Venture in this report is accurate and reliable. Merafe's attributable portion of the data of the Venture reported from natural capital to social capital is 20.5%.
The board of directors of Merafe (the Board) acknowledges its responsibility for overseeing the integrity and completeness of this Integrated Annual Report, and has applied its collective mind to its preparation and presentation. As a collective, the Board believes that it has appropriately and diligently considered matters material to stakeholders and that the report accurately reflects the performance and strategy of the Group.
The Capitals model (Natural, Human, Social, Manufactured and Financial Capital) we have adopted provides a basis for understanding sustainability in terms of the economic concept of wealth creation or "capital".
The model allows us to broaden our understanding of financial sustainability by allowing us to consider how the wider environmental and social issues can affect our long-term profitability.
A glossary of terms and definitions forms part of our 2023 Integrated Annual Report available on our website. The Company's compliance with the GRI guidelines is set out in a table on our website and forms part of the Merafe online Integrated Report for 2023. We would welcome your feedback on our reporting for 2023 and any suggestions you may have in terms of what you would like to see incorporated in our report for the year ending 31 December 2024. Please contact our Financial Director, Ditabe Chocho, ditabe@meraferesources.co.za.