By Sherilee Bridge-David and Jonathan Ancer
Durban Roodepoort Deep (DRDGold), once the country's fifth largest gold producer, managed to hide its deepening crisis for almost two years.
It was in June 2003 that DRDGold first said it was reviewing the future of its Hartebeestfontein and Buffelsfontein mines.
Possible closure of the mines, which then accounted for half of the company's gold production, was already being considered.
DRDGold, which had just come through a messy boardroom battle with former chairperson Roger Kebble, had scarcely begun to run under new boss Mark Wellesley-Wood when the strengthening rand struck gold mines across the country.
Already among the industry's worst performers, DRD operations were dealt a double blow of high costs and far too little life for the mine to cash in on.
Ironically, the Kebble family volunteered to step in and nurse the mines back to health.
Had DRD accepted their token R1 offer to take over the two gold mines, they would have saved both the mines' debt and retrenchment costs.
It is understood that Kebble and his son Brett were locked in a meeting last night to deliberate over their next step. Kebble, also chairperson of Simmer & Jack gold mines, had announced on Monday that Simmer & Jack was launching a bid to take over the South African assets of DRDGold.
"It's quite clear that (Wellesley-Wood) wants to close the South African operations because he can't make them viable," Kebble said, adding that these mines had special challenges that would make the task of reopening them difficult.
"I believe we have a proposal that will prevent closure and save a substantial number of jobs."