PRESS RELEASE
OFFERS RECEIVED FOR GUPTA MINES IN BUSINESS RESCUE
After a collaborative, competitive and transparent sales process that closed on Friday 26 July, the business rescue practitioners of Optimum Coal Mine, Optimum Coal Terminal and Koornfontein Mines announced that no less than eight offers had been received for the assets of these companies.
The business rescue practitioners in consultation with major creditors, appointed Goindustry Dovebid and Park Village Auctions to facilitate the sales process and are assessing the offers. Once qualifying offerors have been identified, they, together with representatives of the major creditors, will engage with those offerors over the coming weeks to agree on commercial terms to present to the companies’ body of creditors to vote on in the form of a business rescue plan.
Optimum Coal Mine (Pty) Ltd, Optimum Coal Terminal (Pty) Ltd and Koornfontein Mines (Pty) Ltd are owned by entities linked to the controversial Gupta family. Optimum Coal Mine’s assets includes an open cast strip and underground sections, eight draglines, two processing plants, a railway siding, a rapid load-out facility and a 15 mega litres-per-day water reclamation plant. Operations can extend well beyond 2030. Optimum’s Coal Terminal, a shareholder within the Richards Bay Coal Terminal, includes a 6.5-million-ton annual coal export entitlement.
Koornfontein Mines, also situated in Mpumalanga, a shareholder within the Richards Bay Coal Terminal, includes a 1.5-million-ton annual coal export entitlement, combines the sale of the underground operations, three processing plants, two railway sidings and a rapid load-out facility. As with Optimum Coal Mine the life expectancy of Koornfontein Coal Mine is also beyond 2030.
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