[miningmx.com] — SHANDUKA Group hopes to conclude a deal before the end of the year which would increase its stake in a coal venture with global trader Glencore to a controlling one, the Business Day newspaper reported on Friday.
Shanduka Coal, currently 70% owned by Glencore, has a run of mine production of 9 million tonnes.
“For our growth, we are not necessarily looking at new acquisitions. At our existing investments, we are looking for significant shareholdings or controlling equity stakes, getting deeper into those businesses we are already in,” Chief Executive Phuti Malabie was quoted by the paper as saying.
Malabie also told the paper there were no immediate plans to list the group or any parts of its businesses.
Shanduka said earlier this week that it may invest R1.1bn for control and management of Lonmin’s Limpopo division.
Together with Glencore, Shanduka has also expressed interest to bid for Optimum Coal , South Africa’s sixth-largest producer.
Shanduka is an investment group run by prominent politician-turned-businessman Cyril Ramaphosa.
Shanduka Coal, through its subsidiaries, owns the Graspan, Townlands, Bankfontein, Leeuwfontein and Lakeside mines in South Africa. Its coal is sold both to the domestic market and exported through the Richards Bay Coal Terminal.
