Online auctions continue to prove that they are the growing choice for 21st century buying and selling of niche assets, specifically by listed mines looking for quick monetisation of assets with transparency and accountability. Clear Asset, an independent online auction company that specialises in mining related assets, has achieved sales of almost R80 million in only six auctions, showing the continued demand from the market for such stock.

The latest auction, featuring assets belonging to three new Anglo Platinum mines, included a mix of dead stock and equipment. The stock from the three Anglo Platinum mines, namely Mogolakwena, Tumela and Khusuleka, attracted extensive interest with in excess of 1,000 bids being placed online during the auction. Clear Asset noted that key interest for the older stock was mostly from local buyers, with 2nd tier players, junior players and rebuild enterprises realising opportunity in returns that was possibly too marginal for the larger blue chip mines.

Notwithstanding the older stock in this most recent auction, Clear Asset appears to have attracted a sustainable international following as this round a combined 17% of auction web hits were from abroad from the likes of the UAE, USA, Australia, Zimbabwe, Congo and Peru.

“What is apparent is that we are continually being tracked and buyers know what they are after and ensure they are aware of the latest stock we take to market. Our role is to help mines dispose, the good and the bad,” says Clear Asset MD Ariella Kuper. “Our previous auction in May where we took to auction a selection of strong quality assets, saw huge international buying and participation with 71% confirmed sales across SA borders as well as into different continents. This round, the stock was older and naturally had more demand for South African buyers but the results were equally strong with an exceptional 100% confirmation, 327% above expectation for one mine and 81% of book value for another.”

‘’Finger pointing and historical wrongful allocation of assets is less relevant today,’’ commented one mine manager. ‘’Mines are proactively looking for a professional and sustainable solution to free up working capital.’’ Through a digital platform which is able to accommodate multiple locations, hundreds of assets and almost no downtime to the mine and decision makers alike whilst bidding, Clear Asset seems to have found a niche to enhance the value to the mine through effective disposal.

In terms of statistics regarding the latest auction, over 1,900 web hits were seen over the 3 week marketing campaign with 47.3% returning visitors to the site and viewers spending an average of 8 min 26 seconds per visit.