NUM welcomes Optimum Colliery settlement, calls for rail allocation
Trade union the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has welcomed the settlement agreement under which Liberty Coal has agreed to pay R461.7-million to the State in place of the confiscation of property, in exchange for the mine’s business, assets and compromised liabilities to be transferred from Optimum Coal Mine to Liberty Coal, which cuts all remaining links with the Gupta family.
Liberty Coal will make an immediate R100-million payment to the State, with the balance of funds to be paid over two years.
All funds will be overseen by an independent administrator and will be distributed to eligible creditors. Liberty Coal will then be responsible for repaying outstanding creditors and recapitalising the mine.
The NUM say the settlement agreement reached by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and Liberty Coal will save more than 500 jobs at Optimum Colliery, in Mpumalanga.
“Liberty Coal gains ownership of the mine and its export arm the Optimum Coal Terminal.
“The NUM calls on the Richards Bay Coal Terminal board to immediately restore Optimum’s train allocation so as to allow for the resumption of Optimum’s export capacity, which will ensure that the re-opening of the mine forges ahead unhindered," the union says.
“The NUM calls for Liberty Coal to re-employ all the employees who lost their jobs during the time when Optimum Coal Mine was placed under business rescue,” says NUM Highveld regional chairperson Bizza Motubatse.
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation