Johannesburg - Optimum Coal, a Gupta-owned mine in Mpumalanga, may no longer be in business rescue, but National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) deputy general secretary William Mabapa said the future of the operation was uncertain.
This came as the Gupta family, which is linked to ÂPresident Jacob Zuma, announced plans on the weekend to sell their holdings in South African assets, ranging from information technology and mining to media.
Mabapa said the lifting of the business rescue issue was positive, but the looming sale of assets meant the future was uncertain for the employees at Optimum mine.
“It is good that Optimum is out of business rescue, but there is a cloud hanging (over it) in terms of its future. If the Gupta family indeed sells its stake in Optimum, we don’t know if there is going to be a buyer for the mine , and what will be the consequence of the sale,” Mabapa said.
Business rescue practitioners Piers Marsden and Peter van den Steen said on Wednesday that they were satisfied Optimum Coal was no longer financially distressed and could be discharged from business rescue.
The practitioners had filed a notice of termination of the business rescue proceedings with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission, which in accordance with the Companies Act 71 of 2008 terminated the business rescue proceedings.
The discharge of Optimum from business rescue did not affect the rights of employees and trade unions, the business rescue practitioners said.
“The termination notice ends all operational control of the business rescue practitioners over Optimum Coal mine. The mine will now continue to trade under the management and control of the board of directors of Optimum Coal Mine,” the practitioners said.
Optimum mine was placed under business rescue following a dispute with state-owned power utility Eskom.
The politically-connected Gupta family acquired Optimum from Swiss-based mining giant Glencore in a R2.1 billion deal that sparked a public outcry on whether the deal was above board.
Optimum Coal merged with Tegeta Resources, the Gupta-linked company, which supplies 5 percent of Eskom’s total coal supply.
On Wednesday, Eskom chief executive Brian Molefe defended the Gupta contracts with Eskom during a National Assembly sitting, saying that Tegeta would continue supplying Eskom with coal until Eskom got a reason to blacklist it.
BUSINESS REPORT