Timis subject to proble into $50m payment

[miningmx.com] – AFRICAN Minerals held an investigation into its chairman, Frank Timis, and a director since resigned from the company, Dermot Coughlan, regarding the payment of $50m to a former buyer of the firm’s iron ore.

Citing documents posted on the UK-listed firm’s website, Bloomberg News said the probe neither proved nor disproved any malfeasance on behalf of Timis and Coughlan. The payment was made without board approval, said Bloomberg News, but added that no board sign-off was required.

The $50m payment was made to Global Iron Ore after African Minerals cancelled iron-ore sale agreements with the Cyprus-registered group in 2012, said Bloomberg News quoting from the published documents.

Timis owns 70% of African Minerals which has seen its share price plummet 70% this year owing to a softening iron ore price and the outbreak of the Ebola virus in Sierra Leon which is where the firm’s Tonkolili iron ore mine is located.

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