The company can no longer operate as Wescoal, as the name implies it is a coal company.
JSE-listed coal miner Wescoal Holdings has proposed changing its name to Salungano Group as it plans to diversify.
In a statement issued to shareholders on January 31, Wescoal’s board of directors said the new name was chosen to better reflect the company’s diversification strategy, through which it aims to invest in multiple industries and diverse sectors of the economy, underpinned by a strong focus on environmental, social and governance.
It said that, despite embarking on a “total transformation that will spearhead an evolution” of its asset portfolio, the company would continue to have strong roots in coal mining.
However, the planned diversification means it “can no longer operate as Wescoal, as the name implies it is a coal company.”
By changing the company’s name and identity, Wescoal said it aims to also change the way it positions itself in the market, as well as in the diverse industries and sectors that it will be investing in.
The company said “salungano” was a Venda word for passing on knowledge, heritage, a vision and generational mission through story-telling. The company believed this would aptly describe the passing on of assets.
The JSE has approved the name change, which is still subject to shareholder approval.
After the name change is finalised, the company will retain its history and will remain listed in the “Mining - Coal” subsector of the main board of the JSE.