The results of the tender for a 51% stake in South African
State-owned gem miner Alexkor should have been presented to
government at a meeting last Friday, and should reach Cabinet
before the end of January, a source tells Mining Weekly.
The winner will be one of four South African mining companies
– Demeng Diamond Holdings, Trans Hex, Pan African Gems and
New Diamond Corporation – that submitted bids before the end
of November last year. A fifth bidder, Canadian firm Diamond Fields
limestone quarry in uaeInternational, withdrew from the tender shortly before the
deadline.
Though it is expected that Standard Corporate Merchant Bank, which
was appointed as an independent auditor to oversee the tender
process,raymond mill spider rollers bull gear blades will make its recommendation on which company should be
awarded the stake at the meeting, it could take some time before an
official announcement is made. The results of the tender –
whiconcrete and debri crushing equipmentsch forms part of the government’s privatisation drive
– will first be presented to Cabinet at the end of January,
before being announced publicly.
According to the source, Friday’s meeting would also serve as
a platform to discuss obstacles and problems regarding the
restructuring process, which has seen several delays since its
initialisation. “There are some issues,” he said,
without elaborating.
One of the issues that has plagued the privatisation of the
Northern Cape miner was the so-called ‘Nabera value-add
process’, which has yet to be finalised, but which has been
ring-fenced so as not to interfere any further with the
restructuring.
The decision by government to restructure the ailing Alexkor was,
to a large extent, prompted by the miner’s history of
mismanagement and corruption. In its heyday, the company produced
some of the finest-quality gems in the world, but turbulent times
turned the operation – one of few sources of economic
activity in the Namaqualand area – into a loss-making
venture. However, for the first time in several years Alexkor has
shown a profit for the financial year ended June 2002.
Privatisation of the mine will leave 39% of the company in the
hands of the government, while the remaining 10% will be offered to
the Namaqualand Development Agency.