[miningmx.com] — Johannesburg – Aurora Empowerment Systems and the liquidators of the Pamodzi gold mines have been invited to appear before parliament’s portfolio committee on mineral resources next Wednesday, liquidator Enver Motala said.
“They basically want an overview on the whole process, on what is happening,’ Motala told Sapa on Thursday.
“They want to discuss all these issues and they want to discuss the environmental problems in that area.’
The politically-connected Aurora Empowerment Systems has been given until August to obtain financing for the Pamodzi gold mining group’s Grootvlei and Orkney Mines on the East Rand.
The mines are run-down and unions, including the National Union of Mineworkers and Solidarity, have said they are being stripped of their assets. The unions have called for their immediate liquidation so workers can be paid the salaries they were owed.
On Tuesday, the liquidators warned Aurora to produce “sufficient, irreversible progress” on the Pamodzi mining deal by the end of May or face cancellation.
Pumps at the Grootvlei mine in Springs were not working, leading to the build-up of acid mine water.
Motala said the main creditors of Pamodzi had told the liquidators their patience was running out with Aurora, whose directors include former president Nelson Mandela’s grandson Zondwa, and President Jacob Zuma’s nephew Khulubuse.
Aurora needs funding to get the mine operations up and running, and was waiting for an unnamed Chinese company to obtain shareholder and government approval for a deal to take a majority stake in Aurora.
Motala said they could “pull the plug’ on the deal at any time.
“We would like to pull the plug but the secure creditors don’t want us to do that. They say if you kick Aurora out who will you put there? If you leave Aurora there, at least the assets are being protected, albeit not completely.’
Unicredit Bank from Germany is the secured creditor for Grootvlei to the tune of R1bn, and Orkney’s secure creditor is the Industrial Development Corporation.
Motala said the liquidators were not influenced by Aurora’s high-powered political connections.
“We did not accept Aurora’s offer because of who is behind the offer… we are not protecting them because they are politically connected. I’d be extremely happy to kick them out because of the trouble they have caused us,’ he said.
“The liquidators are caught in the middle between Aurora and the secured creditors,’ he said.
