Photo by: Bloomberg
The business rescue practitioners (BRPs) for the Optimum coal mine and the Koornfontein mines have put the assets back up for sale.
The BRPs, along with major creditors, have set the closing date for the structured sales process at June 18.
“A line has been drawn in the sand and the time is now for interested parties to submit their offers through a widely advertised and equitable process,” GoIndustry DoveBid representative John Taylor said in a statement on Friday.
GoIndustry Dovebid and Park Village Auctions were appointed to facilitate the sales process, which includes the coal mine assets along with the allocation at the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT).
Optimum’s assets include an opencast strip and underground sections, eight draglines, two processing plants, a railway siding, a rapid load-out facility and a 15-million-litre-a-day water reclamation plant.
Operations can extend well beyond 2030.
Optimum’s Coal Terminal, a shareholder within the RBCT, includes a 6.5-million-ton-a-year coal export entitlement.
The Koornfontein mines, also a shareholder within the RBCT, includes a 1.5-million-ton-a-year coal export entitlement. Its sale will include the underground operations, three processing plants, two railway sidings and a rapid load-out facility.
As with Optimum Coal Mine, the life of Koornfontein Coal Mine is also expected to extend beyond 2030.
The mines went into business rescue in February 2018, following sudden disinvestment by the controversial Gupta family when allegations of State capture first arose in 2015.
Offers to purchase the assets, coupled with an immediate post-commencement finance facility, should ideally reach the sales team by June 5.
Interested parties will need to engage (prior to acceptance) with the creditors holding the larger voting interests, who will be disclosed to vetted bidders once the most responsive bidder/s are considered.