Pamodzi and Aurora history not to be repeated with the sale of the Orkney mine - Solidarity

Solidarity today welcomed the sale of liquidated Pamodzi Gold's Orkney mine in North West for about R140 million to China African Precious Metals (CAPM), but cautioned that CAPM should not follow in the footsteps of its predecessors, Pamodzi and Aurora Empowerment Systems. The sale of the mine finally brings hope for thousands of employees in the Orkney area who have been suffering for years as a result of the Pamodzi and Aurora crisis.

Gideon du Plessis, General Secretary of Solidarity, wished CAPM well in managing the Orkney mine in the wake of the Pamodzi and Aurora crisis which wreaked havoc within the Orkney and Springs communities over the past few years. ‘Solidarity hopes that CAPM will get operations at the mine going as soon as possible and will be able to provide jobs for the hundreds of employees who lost their jobs when the mine was liquidated while under Pamodzi's management and was further destroyed by Aurora after the latter took over the management of the mine. It would be to CAPM's advantage to always be honest with its employees and to not be selective with the truth.'

Du Plessis congratulated the Pamodzi liquidators on the sale of the Orkney mine and expressed the hope that the proposed sale of the Grootvlei mine on the East Rand would be completed soon. ‘Hopefully, it would finally bring the Pamodzi and Aurora crisis to an end. Earlier this year, Gold One and Goliath Gold conditionally agreed to purchase the Grootvlei mine for R70 million.'

Du Plessis said that, in the meantime, the inquiry into charges against Khulubuse Zuma (a nephew of Pres. Jacob Zuma), Zondwa Mandela (Nelson Mandela's grandson), Thulani Ngubani, the commercial director, as well as Fazel and Solly Bhana, the management consultants appointed by the directors to manage the Pamodzi mines on behalf of Aurora, is going full steam ahead. ‘After a lengthy insolvency inquiry the Pamodzi liquidators have charged the group in terms of section 424 of the Companies Act. In terms of section 424, directors can be held personally responsible for the mismanagement of a company.'

Superb Gold Ltd, a subsidiary of the SSC Mandarin Group (SSC), owns 74% of CAPM, and 26% of SSC is owned by a BEE company led by Ellias Khumalo. SSC also owns various mining companies in the Free State and the Northern Cape. CAPM is planning to spend more than R525 million to build a new gold plant at Orkney to have the mine fully productive within a year.

Statement issued by Gideon du Plessis, General Secretary: Solidarity, October 25 2012

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