Gold major AngloGold Ashanti last Friday agreed to provide R10-million for wages at Pamodzi Gold’s provisionally liquidated Orkney gold mine and simultaneously began a five-day technical study into the impact of a possible closure of the Orkney mine.

AngloGold Ashanti corporate affairs manager Joanne Jones told Mining Weekly that a request had been made for AngloGold to provide R10-million for wages and that the request had been granted.

SBT Trust liquidator Enver Motala told Mining Weekly last Thursday that he was in discussions with AngloGold Ashanti, which toll-treated gold ore for the Orkney gold mine, currently on care and maintenance. Jones could not confirm that AngloGold was reportedly owed some R98-million for toll-treating gold ore for Pamodzi Gold.

On Mining Weekly’s report that AngloGold was in funding talks with the liquidator, Jones said: “The talks themselves weren’t specifically funding talks, but rather talks relating to a technical pro-ject, which is going to be undertaken by AngloGold Ashanti.”

The technical project would include a risk assessment of the impact the closure of Pamodzi Gold’s Orkney mine would have on safety as well as other technical issues. “Then there was a request from the liquidator for wage support,” she added.

“We were requested to provide R10-million for wage support and we agreed to that request and we have subsequently actioned it for payment,” Jones said, adding that AngloGold Ashanti was doing its best to mitigate potential social impacts on the local community.

Engineering Labour Hire CEO Jan van den Berg last Thursday told Mining Weekly that AngloGold Ashanti was being approached to assist with funding to return Orkney to operational status, and believed the amount being sought was R20-million. It was Engineering Labour Hire, which is owed R21,8-million, which brought the provisional liquidation order against Pamodzi Gold’s Orkney mine that was granted in the Pretoria High Court, which set a return date of April 14.

Motala estimated that Orkney needed a cash injection of between R25-million and R40-million.

JIC Mining Services CEO Jagdish Parekh said that there was tremendous scope to save the Orkney mine.

“It’s purely an operational turnaround strategy that we are proposing. We believe that the mine can be saved and that it should be saved,” Parekh said.

Van den Berg said that 1 000 Engineering Labour Hire personnel had not been paid for two months and some were already too undernourished to resume work underground.

“AngloGold’s assistance can make a huge difference, and it will give support to JIC to come on board,” Van den Berg said.

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