When possible, Triple Flag seeks to team up with our mining partners to invest in important local priorities and build skills and capacities needed to benefit from opportunities at the mine. Our focus to date has been on education and economic participation, as shown by our flagship partnerships with Royal Bafokeng Platinum in South Africa and Northparkes in Australia. In the future, these mutual ESG priorities could also include decarbonization, innovation and/or diversity and inclusion.
Triple Flag can provide further value to our mining partners by making connections between them and our networks to address emerging ESG issues and opportunities, and facilitate continuous learning and improvement. In this way, we aim to be a catalyst for continual improvement and transformative change within the mining sector.
In partnership with RBPlat, Triple Flag has committed to investing US$100,000 annually towards a bursary program that will support, over the life of the asset, more than 50 students through their entire post-secondary education. This will also provide these students with employment opportunities at the mine site upon completion of their program.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Triple Flag further funded a one-time US$225,000 distance learning initiative approved by the South African Department of Basic Education which RBPlat is implementing. The Virtual Classroom Distance Learning solution assists in delivering daily lessons to Grade 7 & 12 learners on personal smart devices. All software and hardware is integrated, enabling the teacher to control the technological aspects of the lesson from a single interface. This allows the Department of Basic education to create simple and easy-to-use facilities that are accessible to all students. This standardized approach ensures students are able to continue their studies, even when when they are unable to physically attend school. The infrastructure and technology is designed to be sustainable beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. This initiative directly benefits over 775 teachers and learners in six doorstop community schools each year.