SA gold miners see better results

"DRDGold will issue its December quarter production results on January 27 and its quarterly presentation of December 2004 results on 24 February."

hxxp://www.businessday.co.za/bday/content/direct/...3,1791860-6078-0,00.html

 

DRDGold has said that the jobs of 6513 workers are at stake.

aus:

LABOUR
Nearly 20 000 jobs on the line
Posted Thu, 17 Mar 2005

Nearly 20 000 people could lose their jobs in the next two months, according to trade union Solidarity.

"We regard this as an employment state of emergency," said Flip Buys on Thursday, the union's general secretary .

This trade union is currently negotiating with 25 companies against the retrenchment of 18 293 workers, mostly in the mining, chemical, telecommunications and metal industries.

A further 1500 jobs were threatened in individual cases, said spokesperson Dirk Hermann.

Strong rand hurting companies

He said Solidarity had appointed a commission of enquiry into the economic rationale behind the retrenchments, which the companies concerned were blaming on the strong rand.

The commission would also look into possible ways to "lessen the impact of the crisis".

Solidarity is arguing that something must be done to lessen the damage wreaked on thousands of families by the effects of a strong rand.

"If a natural disaster causes economic disruption to 20 000 people, a state of emergency is declared. We accept that certain underlying economic factors cannot be altered, but I have never heard anybody say that because a natural emergency cannot be averted nothing can therefore be done for the victims", Buys said.

Major retrenchments in mining

The major retrenchment would be in the mining industry, Hermann said.

At Harmony Gold mines, 4914 workers might be laid off.

DRDGold has said that the jobs of 6513 workers are at stake.

De Beers is mentioning 1270 retrenchments and Kumba, 400.

Five chemical manufacturers around the country are also dismissing anything from 50 to 300 people each.

Telkom is retrenching 2903 people and in the metal and engineering industry there are fifteen companies that are planning lay-offs totalling more than 1000 workers.

The findings of Solidarity's commission would be published at the beginning of April, Hermann said.

Sapa  

DRDGOLD: We are not liable
By: Alec Hogg
Posted: '07-APR-05 10:00' GMT © Mineweb 1997-2004

MINEWEB: Good news for Harmony ? the strike is over. The workers are going back after the last few days that they have been out on strike. Not such good news for Harmony or for AngloGold, for that matter, is that mines in the North West province could be looking at a little bit too much water. Mineweb?s editor Jim Jones is in the studio with us. Jim, you uncovered this story and it has caused quite a furore. Just please tell us what it's all about.

JIM JONES: Without going into the legal technicalities of it, Alec, the Stilfontein mine makes a lot of water. It comes in from dolomite and it?s on the surface, and it's about 25, 26, 28, 30m litres a day. That?s an awful lot of water. DRD, which owns two mines in the south, Buffelsfontein and Harties, has walked away from them, declaring them ?

MINEWEB: Harties, not Harmony.

JIM JONES: Sorry, I beg your pardon. You?d moved Harmony up from the Free State a few seconds ago. Harties and Buffelsfontein has put them in voluntary liquidation for various reasons, which we don?t need to go into ? and it has said that it is no longer prepared to go on pumping water at Stilfontein, which it's contractually obliged to. What will happen is that water will then flow into a property that belongs to Harmony, which is the old Vaal Reefs mine, and also into AngloGold Great Noligwa mine, which is to the south. The law is quite explicit. The National Water Act says that mines, when they close down, cannot stop pumping that water. Nor are they allowed to do anything which will vitiate the water. The water at Stilfontein is very clean. With a little bit more cleaning it could be drunk by you or me. But, anyway, DRDGold now wants to stop this pumping within a few weeks, if not days, if that pumping stops on Stilfontein ?. Anyway, the whole point is that there?s now a row between AngloGold and Harmony and DRD. DRD says ?we are no longer responsible, because this was a subsidiary, a wholly owned subsidiary in a separate company. We no longer own it. We?ve given it over to the liquidators,? and essentially walked away from it.

MINEWEB: Sorry for taking Virginia into the North West Province. I do apologise. In fact I?ve even been to Harmony?s mines. I should know that it's in Virginia, not right next door to Buffels and Harties. But Niel Pretorius DRDGold?s legal counsel, is with us. There?s a lot at stake here Niel. It's R85m, according to the AngloGold announcement that came out today. That is the cost of pumping this water, ensuring that the water doesn?t flood one mine and then flood the next, and eventually flood AngloGold.

NEIL PRETORIUS: Alec, look the pumping majority, the bulk of the pumping that takes place in that area, as Jim?s pointed out, is in fact from Stilfontein, which is a company which has no relation, it's not an associate company of DRD. It's in fact being managed by JCI. And Buffelsfontein started pumping water there five, six years ago ? well, actually in terms of an agreement dated 1985, when it became apparent that controlling the water levels in Stilfontein makes commercial sense from a Buffelsfontein point of view. More or less what the gentleman with who you had the interview just before I arrived [said], the suggestion that he made. So Buffelsfontein has been carrying those costs for many, many years.

MINEWEB: So it's not actually it's problem. It's more the Stilfontein problem. Is that what you?re saying?
NEIL PRETORIUS: Well, the water originates at Stilfontein but, in order to keep the water levels down in order to mine Buffels and Harties, Buffels has been picking up the costs over these years to pump ? and the costs are roughly in the region of about R60m a year. Now those mines have been running at a loss for many, many years, as you know ? not many years but at least until after the collapse of the gold price, the rand price of gold. And we?ve been in constant state of restructuring at the North West operations in order to address the margin or the lack thereof at that particular mine. It's a problem that?s long been in the coming. We?ve engaged AngloGold in discussion, pointing out that there is a real risk lying ahead and it shouldn?t come as a surprise, the fact that this is now the situation which these mines face.

MINEWEB: It appears, Niel, and maybe Jim, you could explain whether this is the case, but from AngloGold?s argument they say, ?it's not our problem. We don?t want to pick up a bill they quantified at R85m, and in fact somebody else further up the line has to keep on pumping.?

NEIL PRETORIUS: Alec, that?s an over-simplification, in my view, of the legal position. Certainly there?s no legal obligation on Anglo to pump the water. But equally there?s no legal obligation on DRDGold Limited, the holding company of Buffelsfontein, to pump water, for the simple reason that, if you were to look at the environmental legislation on which they rely, and I see they?ve actually gone out in the printed media ?

MINEWEB: It was a Sens statement. Stock Exchange News Services.

NEIL PRETORIUS: Yes ? where they?ve in fact stated their case. Now, on a fairly basic and fundamentally simple point of view or approach, if one has an obligation in law, then obviously there must be a concomitant entitlement to give effect to that obligation. And if there?s an obligation on DRDGold at this point in time to come forward, then there should be, in law, provision for a right to access those facilities and to in fact pump it. Now, once a company goes into liquidation, the total control and management of that company is taken over by the liquidator, and a liquidator who does not want to accommodate a concerned party in dealing with a problem such as this, there?s no obligation in law on him to allow that party to actually to [indistinct] ? that?s the position in law. So in other words what I?m suggesting to you is that ?
MINEWEB: There?s a legal battle that?s going to start here, and it's going to be an expensive one.

NEIL PRETORIUS: I tell you what ? the lawyers are going to be very happy about this dispute, because they?re going to make an absolute fortune. I think that there is probably a better chance of dealing with the matter and settling the matter if the executives of these companies get together and maybe have a chat.

MINEWEB: But Niel, the real issue here is JCI. It's the Kebbles. The Kebbles versus AngloGold. Jim ? am I reading it right?

JIM JONES: I goes back a long time, when Roger Kebble was still running DRDGold and he signed the agreement which obliged the Buffelsfontein mine to operate the Stilfontein?s [indistinct] shaft pumping facilities, and that hasn?t that has not yet gone away. That was necessary because of the legal requirements of closing down the old Stilfontein mine. Nothing happens out of Stilfontein any more ? it's closed. If the two DRD, or former DRD, mines are to be closed, they too have to comply with the legislation ?

MINEWEB: So where would you put your money on this? Who?s going to come short?

JIM JONES: Everybody in the end is likely to come short. And in the end I suppose what will happen is that the taxpayers are going to end up footing the bill if these people walk away from it. It's not altogether clear yet whether the government will force DRDGold to honour its agreements, even though it walked away from the Buffelsfontein mine ? and if it does what can it do about it?

MINEWEB: Well, as you say Niel, the lawyers are going to love this one.
 

Flooding looms for AngloGold Ashanti mines
Justin Brown | Johannesburg, South Africa

07 April 2005 09:10

Three gold mines operated by world number two gold-miner AngloGold Ashanti face the prospect of flooding, if rival DRDGold doesn't pick up the tab for the pumping of underground water from its Hartebeesfontein and Buffelfontein gold mines, which are currently shut down and in the process of being liquidated.

The three mines in South Africa are its flagship operation, Great Noligwa -- which is also the largest gold producer in the AngloGold Ashanti group -- and the Kopanang and Moab Khotsong mines.

The Great Noligwa and Kopanang mines produced 326 000 troy ounces of gold in the quarter ending December 2004, or a fifth of AngloGold Ashanti's output for the three-month period.

Moab Khotsong is a new mine on which construction started in the early 1990s. The mine is expected to start producing gold in 2006 and should build up to a yearly output of 500 000 oz.

In March, DRDGold put the Hartebeesfontein and Buffelfontein gold mines into liquidation, which saw about 6 500 people lose their jobs.

"There was a meeting today between the various affected parties, including AngloGold Ashanti, and the pumps most definitely haven't been turned off. We are going to address this jointly. The matter of the underground water is being addressed at a very high level and everything is being sorted out," a legal spokesperson for one of the liquidators of the two gold mines said on Wednesday.

"The talk about flooding is really nothing -- a storm in a teacup. The problem of flooding is a widespread problem in the gold-mining industry. A company can't just walk away, it has to continue pumping," a Johannesburg analyst said.

Harmony Gold recently tried to stop pumping underground water at its Randfontein 4 shaft but could not do so as it would have had an impact on the adjacent South Deep gold mine, he added.

DRDGold spokesperson Ilja Graulich said on Wednesday that DRDGold has no legal obligation to fund the pumping of the underground water from its former Buffelfontein and Hartebeesfontein gold mines.

Buffelfontein Gold Mines, which is the legal entity that holds the Buffelsfontein and Hartebeesfontein gold mines, has a separate legal identity from DRDGold, he added.

He referred queries regarding the pumping of the former gold mines to the liquidators.

Regarding DRDGold's statement that it had no legal obligation to pump the two mines' underground water after liquidation, an AngloGold Ashanti spokesperson said that the group is "considering its options".

It has previously cost Buffelfontein Gold Mines about R60-million to R70-million a year to pump the underground water from the two mines, Graulich said.

It is estimated that the two mines, as well as the Stilfontein mine, pump about 30-million litres of water a month, he added. -- I-Net Bridge  

Press Release Source: AngloGold Ashanti

AngloGold Ashanti Comments on Speculation Concerning Underground Water at Vaal River Operations

Wednesday April 6, 7:43 am ET


JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA--(MARKET WIRE)--Apr 6, 2005 -- There has been some speculation reported in the media about AngloGold Ashanti's (NYSE:AU) position in regard to the cessation of the mining operations at, and the placing into liquidation of, DRD Gold's North West operations at Hartebeestfontein and Buffelsfontein.
Four mining companies operate in the Klerksdorp-Orkney-Stilfontein-Hartebeestfontein (KOSH) area: Buffelsfontein Gold Mines Limited ("Buffels"), which owns Hartebeesfontein Gold Mine and Buffelsfontein Gold Mine; Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited ("Harmony"); Stilfontein Gold Mining Company Limited ("SGMC") and AngloGold Ashanti Limited.

The mines not operated by AngloGold Ashanti are all updip of AngloGold Ashanti's mines and underground water, if not controlled, would flow down the natural dip in the underground strata into the AngloGold Ashanti mines. Consequently, the updip mines are obliged in law to continue pumping underground water, even after their mining operations have ceased.

1. The Law

The obligations to continue pumping underground water arise under the following statutory provisions as well as common law:

1.1. National Water Act 36 of 1998

In terms of the National Water Act, the upstream mines require a licence in order to undertake their pumping activities. Any alteration to the pumping activity (including cessation of those pumping activities) would only be permissible if authorised by the relevant licence or the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF).

The National Water Act also imposes a relatively stringent duty of care on the upstream mines' use of water (which includes the pumping of water from underground) and any pollution arising from such water use. In the event that cessation of pumping upstream causes pollution downstream, the National Water Act obliges the upstream mines to effect reasonable measures to prevent any pollution from continuing, occurring and recurring. Failure to implement such measures empowers the DWAF to issue a directive to the upstream mine responsible for causing downstream pollution. Failure to comply with that directive in turn permits DWAF to effect the necessary reasonable measures, and to recover the costs from the offending mine.

Furthermore, under the National Water Act, it is a criminal offence to unlawfully and intentionally or negligently commit any act or omission, which detrimentally affects or is likely to affect a water resource.

1.2. National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998 ("NEMA")

NEMA also contains a relatively stringent duty of care provisions as far as general pollution is concerned.

1.3. Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act 28 of 2002 ("the MPRDA")

The MPRDA is relevant to the closure of any of the upstream mines. Under the MPRDA a closure certificate may not be issued unless the Chief Inspector and DWAF have confirmed in writing that issues pertaining to health and safety as well as management of potential pollution to water resources have been addressed.

The MPRDA also places joint and several liability on the directors of a company for any unacceptable negative impact on the environment, including damage, degradation or pollution advertently or inadvertently caused by the company which they represent or represented.

The Minister also has the power to issue a directive to the holder of a Mining Right to take the necessary measures to stop pollution of the environment. If the company fails to comply, the Minister may cause the necessary measures to stop the pollution to be implemented and seek recourse against the offending company or as stipulated under the MPRDA.

1.4. Mine Health and Safety Act 29 of 1996 ("the MHSA")

The MHSA is relevant to the issue of actual or potential risks and hazards to the safety of employees as well as third parties. Under the MHSA every employer must provide and maintain a working environment that is safe and without risk to the health of employees as well as persons who are not employees but who may be directly affected by the activities at the mine. The obligation includes an obligation not to expose such employees or any third parties to any hazards to their health and safety.

Under the MHSA it is also a criminal offence to cause a serious injury or a serious illness to a person other than an employer or an employee by way of negligent act or omission.

1.5. The Common Law

In the event that the updip mines threaten cessation of pumping activities or indeed cease pumping activities, provided Anglogold Ashanti can show that in consequence its property may or in fact does suffer harm, there would be sufficient basis for AngloGold Ashanti to approach a Court for an interdict ordering the responsible upstream mines to continue pumping activities.

2. AngloGold Ashanti's Response

From this it is clear that the legal obligation to continue pumping rests with the mines updip. AngloGold Ashanti is not willing to assume this liability, the cost of which we estimate at R85 million a year. AngloGold Ashanti is already participating in the KOSH water forum which is examining long-term solutions to the region's water problems and will continue to do so. We will, however, also continue to expect other mining companies to continue to meet their legal obligations. AngloGold Ashanti takes the view that an act of liquidation cannot be utilised to avoid statutory obligations.



Contact:
Contact:
Charles Carter
Vice President - IR
AngloGold Ashanti
(212) 750 7999
cecarter@anglogoldashanti.com



--------------------------------------------------
Source: AngloGold Ashanti  

Posted to the web on: 08 April 2005
NUM seeks help for shut mines
John Fraser

Resources Editor

HARMONY CE Bernard Swanepoel said yesterday he had been asked by the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) to consider taking over the two DRDGOLD mines near Klerksdorp that were provisionally liquidated last month.
Harmony has a track record in turning underproductive assets around, and the union clearly hopes to restore some of the 6500 jobs that were lost when the mines were closed ??

?We were asked by the NUM to look at the assets,? Swanepoel said.
He said Harmony would be in a position to consider taking on the mines only if they were ?assets unencumbered by all sorts of liabilities?.
Harmony?s involvement would ?depend on what the liquidators are selling. The liquidators must make clear where the pumping and past liabilities lie.?

He said environmental commitments and pumping liabilities would be two key areas of concern.
Swanepoel said that a Harmony official had been asked to contact the liquidator to establish ?whether there is value in the assets ? whether the liquidation process will strip it of historical liabilities, such as expectations about employment levels and environmental liabilities?. With Bloomberg

hxxp://www.businessday.co.za/articles/topstories.aspx?ID=BD4A34524  

SOUTH AFRICA
Ultimatum to mines over flooding danger
April 12, 2005

By Alameen Templeton

The state has given gold mines, squabbling over the R85-million-a-year ground-water crisis threatening the Vaal River - and thousands of jobs - two weeks to find a solution.

The recent liquidation of DRDGold's Hartebeestfontein and Buffelsfontein gold mines means someone has to take responsibility for pumping 28-million litres of water a day out of an underground lake to prevent downstream mines from flooding.

DRDGold says the huge cost of the pumping operation was one of the main reasons why its mines had to go under. AngloGold, whose Ashanti operation is downhill from DRDGold's mines, says it will cost it R85-million a year if it has to take over the pumping responsibilities.

mehr:

hxxp://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=129&fArticleId=2478844  

AngloGold Ashanti goes to court on DRDGOLD pumping

Tue April 12, 2005 11:59 AM GMT+02:00

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - AngloGold Ashanti Ltd said it will ask a court on Tuesday to force South African rival DRDGOLD to keep pumping water from shut mines since otherwise its own mines nearby were in danger of flooding.

DRDGOLD put into liquidation its North West mines last month, cutting production by a third and putting 6,500 people out of work.

Threatened by possible flooding are two of the biggest mines owned by AngloGold, the world's second largest gold producer, and a mine owned by Harmony Gold.

mehr:

hxxp://www.reuters.co.za/locales/...nessNews&localeKey=en_ZA&storyID=8153437  

S.Africa orders miners to share mine pumping costs
Fri April 15, 2005 6:04 PM GMT+02:00

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The South African government has ordered three mining groups to share the costs of pumping water at Stilfontein and Buffelsfontein gold mines, Anglogold Ashanti said on Friday.

"The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry today issued a directive, as an interim measure, ordering ... DRDGold, Harmony and ourselves to share equally the cost ... at Stilfontein and Buffelsfontein Gold Mines," the company said in a statement.

It is believed that the costs covered by the directive total some 4.3 million rand per month in total, though this figure is still to be verified, the statement said.

hxxp://www.reuters.co.za/locales/...nessNews&localeKey=en_ZA&storyID=8196906  

South African Government Issues Directive to DRDGold, Harmony and AngloGold Ashanti

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 04/15/2005 -- The South African Department of Water Affairs and Forestry today issued a directive, as an interim measure, ordering three mining groups, DRDGold, Harmony and AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE: AU) to share equally the costs of pumping water at a number of shafts at Stilfontein Gold Mine and Buffelsfontein Gold Mines.

mehr:

hxxp://www.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=84738  

Solidarity loses DRDGold court case
Pretoria
15 April 2005 12:38

Trade union Solidarity's urgent application to oppose the choice of liquidators of DRDGold's operations in North West was dismissed in the Pretoria High Court on Friday.

Solidarity and the United Association of SA (Uasa), which represent about 660 of the mine's 6 500 workers, asked the court to set aside the Master of the High Court's decision not to appoint the liquidators of their choice, claiming their members could be severely prejudiced in the liquidation.

Solidarity expressed fears that preference would be given to large commercial creditors instead of workers.

mehr:

hxxp://www.mg.co.za/...leid=235074&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__sport/  

Harmony seeks urgent interdict against water pumping decision
By: Gareth Tredway
Posted: '18-APR-05 12:00' GMT © Mineweb 1997-2004

JOHANNESBURG (Mineweb.com) -- On Monday afternoon Harmony Gold was set to apply to South Africa?s High Court in Johannesburg for an urgent interdict against last week?s water pumping directive made by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry.

On Friday the Department issued a directive, as an interim measure, ordering DRDGOLD, Harmony and AngloGold Ashanti to share the costs of pumping water on a number of shafts at the Stilfontein and Buffelsfontein Gold Mines near the town of Klerksdorp.

The directive followed an urgent application made to the High Court after liquidators of the Buffelsfontein mine, which was put into receivership by DRDGOLD last month, were set to turn off water pumping facilities. DRDGOLD was also paying the water-pumping fees of Stilfontein, which ceased gold production several years ago, to prevent its own mines from flooding.

mehr:

hxxp://www.mineweb.net/sections/gold_silver/433576.htm  

Roger Kebble responds

hxxp://www.miningmx.com/commentary/433350.htm  

Court rules gold miners must pay for water pumping

http://www.miningweekly.co.za/min/news/today/?show=67563  

Simmer & Jack gets DRDGold nod

Simmer & Jack, a South African gold producer, has been nominated as the preferred bidder for DRDGold?s Northwest operations, which it liquidated earlier this year.

http://www.mineweb.net/fast_news/443323.htm
 

Staff pin hopes on Kebble as DRDGold exits

Man of the cloth puts food on the table while firms haggle

http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=&fArticleId=2627943
 

DRD Gold besitzt anrechenbare Goldreserven von fast 10 Mio Unzen.
Bei dem jetzigen Kurs liegt die Marktkapitalisierung bei ungefähr 270 Mio$
Die Reserven werden somit mit knappen 30$/Unze bewertet.Rechnet man noch die Schulden in Höhe von 70Mio mit ein ,kommt man auf eine Bewertungvon knapp von 40$/Unze.
Bei momentanen Übernahmen,werden 100-120$/Unze geboten!!
Die Cashkosten schlagen jedoch mit ca 450$/Unze zu Buche.Somit verbleibt ein positiver Cash Flow in Höhe von gerade mal 7Mio$.
Ich denke,man kann zu diesem Preis kaufen.(0,60?)
Die Aktie ist günstig zu haben,zumal DRD alles daran setzen wird,ein Delisting(Kurs unter 1$)zu vermeiden.
Desweiteren stehen die Streiks kurz vor dem Ende.
Ein erster Zielkus ist 1$(0,76?)
So long
Trout





--------------------------------------------------
Wahre Bildung besteht darin,zu wissen,was man kann,
und ein für alle Male zu lassen,was man nicht kann.
(Voltaire)  

in DRDGOLD und hoffe auf eine Kurserholung nach den
Verlusten der letzten Tage.
Die kann ja nicht nur fallen, sicher hat es mehr als
genug schlechte Nachrichten in letzter Zeit gegeben, aber
das Unternehmen ist ja kein Hotstockwert, sondern das
älteste Minenunternehmen in Südafrika mit realen Goldreserven
für die nächsten 17 Jahre im Boden.

 

diese nachrichten können für uns gut sein - bitte um euere feedback

03/22/2007 10:41:54 - DRDGold's Emperor Sells Fijian Assets To Westech Gold

Edited Press Release

JOHANNESBURG -(Dow Jones)- South African gold miner DRDGold Ltd. (DROOY) Thursday said its majority-owned Australian unit, Emperor Mines Ltd. (EMP.AU), has signed an agreement to sell all its Fijian assets, including the Vatukoula Mine, to privately-held Westech Gold Pty Ltd.

Under the agreement, Emperor is selling 100% of its sares in its Australian incorporated companies, which in turn own the Fijian assets of Emperor. With immediate effect, all assets and liabilities of the Emperor Fijian operations will be transferred to Westech.

Announcing the sale in Brisbane Thursday, Emperor Chief Executive Brad Gordon said that the sale and transfer of Fiji assets and liabilities was particularly important at this time because it allowed the company to draw a line under its activities in Fiji and concentrate on the restructuring process announced earlier this year.

"We can now confirm the sale of all Fijian company assets, something we considered essential to stem the cash flow drain on the Emperor group occasioned by the ongoing costs of care and maintenance at Vatukoula," Gordon said.

Frazer Bourchier, former general manager of Fiji operations for Emperor Mines, said the sale paves the way forward for future operations and investment in the Vatukoula district by the new owners and represents the end of a chapter for Emperor Mines.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 22, 2007 05:41 ET (09:41 GMT)

© 2007 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.


Supplier : DJN  

 

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