Mining company Vantage Goldfields on Thursday announced that the Mbombela High Court had dismissed Flaming Silver’s application for leave to appeal the judgment in favour of subsidiary Vantage Goldfields South Africa (VGSA), in a dispute over the Lily and Barbrook mines.
Siyakhula Sonke Empowerment Corporation (SSC) and its subsidiary Flaming Silver had been in a lengthy dispute with VGSA over an agreement for the sale of shares of the mines, which are situated in Mpumalanga.
The Mbombela High Court late in July ruled in favour of Vantage, stating that funding to reopen the mines had never been secured by Flaming Silver as alleged. SSC said it would appeal the ruling.
The mines went into business rescue shortly after the Lily mine collapsed in February 2016, killing three mineworkers who were trapped in a container underground.
In the meantime, SSC entered into a partnership with Taung Gold International and made an offer to acquire the mines, but Vantage and the business rescue practitioners of the mines had proceeded to progress an offer by Real Win Investments.
Vantage CEO Mike McChesney in a previous statement said the business rescue proceedings could now be completed and the mines reopened. Real Win had obtained the required funding and had the experience needed to reopen the mines, he added.
McChesney in a statement on Thursday said the dismissal of Flaming Silver’s application for leave to appeal finally paved the way for Vantage to progress the Real Win transaction, as an agreement was signed on March 12 on a conditional basis pending the unwinding of the failed agreement between Vantage and Flaming Silver.
Real Win is a special purpose vehicle formed by Pius Mokgokong, Zandile Mdanda and Lindani Dhlamini.