Gold Fields is focus of US SEC probe

A sign for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A sign for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Published Sep 10, 2013

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Johannesburg - South African bullion producer Gold Fields said on Tuesday it was being investigated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission over a 2010 black empowerment deal.

Gold Fields, which is listed in the United States and therefore subject to scrutiny from US regulators, said in a statement it was being probed over the deal, which includes the granting of a mining licence for its South Deep mine.

The company in 2010 gave a 9 percent stake in South Deep to a group of black investors to meet government targets for black economic empowerment (BEE).

These aim to boost black ownership in Africa's biggest economy where apartheid ended in 1994.

The company, South Africa's second biggest gold proucer, said last month an independent investigation into the deal determined that the transaction did not meet its own standards.

Gold Fields chief executive Nick Holland has offered to waive his 2013 bonus due to concerns over the deal.

The company has not released the results of the independent investigation, which it said was prompted by several local press reports about the transaction.

Gold Fields former chairwoman Mamphela Ramphele - who has since founded an opposition political party to challenge the ruling ANC - told South Africa's Business Day newspaper in March the company had come under government pressure to include certain specific shareholders in the deal.

Gold Fields has said Ramphele's comments represent her personal view.

Shares of Gold Fields were down 0.9 percent at 51.80 rand as at 13:47 SA time. - Reuters

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