Dawn Mokhobo
Chair: Wesizwe Platinum
‘Our majority shareholder and funder remains fully committed to the Bakubung project’
ANOTHER year and Wesizwe Platinum has still not produced significant volumes of metal from its proposed 420,000-ounce-a-year Bakubung mine, appropriately situated on the doorstep of North West province gambling resort Sun City. It should have been fully commissioned in the fourth quarter but alas, more problems emerged.
The company was forced to lay off staff between 2022 and 2025, which worsened already poor relations with Wesizwe’s labour in general. Three strikes, one of them an illegal underground sit-in, further hampered Bakubung’s ramp-up. Technical problems also emerged. Bakubung’s mining method was changed; then the company ran into problems with the mine’s concentrator. In addition to this, a cyberattack in March 2025 crippled Wesizwe’s systems. The effects continue, delaying the firm’s annual numbers and leading to its suspension from the JSE. A dispute with the South African Revenue Service is dragging on and board turnover has been high. One non-executive director resigned in August 2024 and another four stepped down in 2025.
Mokhobo has presided over this mess but she is also a steadfast presence. The critical factor is whether Wesizwe’s major shareholder, China Africa Jinchuan, will recapitalise the balance sheet after the miner exceeded a $1.5bn funding cap. That wasn’t evident at the time of writing, but we wait in hope. Meantime, Wesizwe’s accounts have been qualified by its auditor, SNG Grant Thornton. It had previously done so in October 2024. Says Wesizwe: “Our majority shareholder and funder remains fully committed to the Bakubung project.” Not all are convinced. “It’s a black hole,” says an analyst.
LIFE OF DAWN
Mokhobo holds a BA degree from the University of the North and has considerable private and public sector experience. She has worked with the Independent Electoral Commission in South Africa and the UN Special Committee on Women and Economic Development internationally. Mokhobo is also on the board of three JSE-listed companies: Engen, Altron and Sabvest. She further holds directorships of Sasol Inzalo Public Funding Limited and Ingwazi Resources.
