[miningmx.com] — The Competition Tribunal has withdrawn a charge with the South African Police Service (SAPS) against Rory Cole, Financial Accountant of First Uranium Corporation, saying the relevant information required
had been provided.
Last week the Competition Tribunal laid a charge with the South African Police
Service against Rory Cole following Cole’s failure to respond to a summons ordering
him to be present at a merger hearing or to produce relevant information.
The Tribunal said since the charges were made public on Monday this week it had been approached by the attorneys acting on behalf of First Uranium Corporation, who sought to submit the relevant information to the Tribunal as per the subpoena.
First Uranium Corporation has since satisfactorily complied with the Tribunal’s
request for information.
The Tribunal said in a statement that the matter concerned the proposed acquisition by Bedrock Mining Support of the Letaba, Numbi and De Kaap businesses of Mondi.
Bedrock requested the Tribunal to consider the Competition Commission’s initial
prohibition of the proposed deal in terms of an appeal process known as a re-
consideration of an intermediate merger.
The Tribunal conditionally approved the merger on July 21, 2010, after the
Commission and merging parties proposed a set of behavioural conditions that
addressed all concerns raised by third parties.
When the Tribunal received the request by Bedrock, it requested further
information from several customers of underground mining support products, via the Commission.
The Commission however notified the Tribunal that it was unsuccessful in
obtaining the information requested by the Tribunal from First Uranium Corporation.
In terms of the Competition Act the presiding member at a hearing may direct or summon any person to appear before it or order any person to produce an item
necessary for the purposes of the hearing.
Any person who subsequently fails to comply with such summons commits an
offence in terms of section 71 of the Act, the Tribunal said.
Despite numerous attempts from the Tribunal to try and compel compliance by
Cole with a summons of July 12, 2010, to appear at the Tribunal or alternatively to
produce the required tender related information in its possession as a customer of
stand up mining support products, he failed to respond.
The Tribunal subsequently laid a charge with the SAPS.
