SSC disputes Vantage’s plan to self-fund reopening of Lily, Barbrook mines

19th February 2021

By: Donna Slater

Features Deputy Editor and Chief Photographer

     

Font size: - +

Minerals investment company the SSC Group says it will be up to the creditors and affected persons to ultimately decide the way forward for the Lily and Barbrook mines, and not the current owner, Vantage Goldfields.

This follows after Vantage CEO Mike McChesney’s recent comments that neither of the mines are for sale and that their reopening would be undertaken by Vantage.

SSC Group CEO Fred Arendse has called for Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe to intervene in the matter.

SSC Group notes that it is one of the biggest creditors of both Vantage and Barbrook mines and forms part of the bidder that has been at the forefront of trying to reopening the mines, "prior to business rescue practitioners (BRPs) Rob Devereux and Daniel Terblanche, reneging on their undertaking to publish the detailed and fully funded amended business rescue plans on January 20".

Further, he notes, “Vantage has yet to produce any proof of funding demonstrating their ability to pay any of the creditors or mine employees, for that matter".

SSC says the Vantage proposal provides no detail on any feasible and implementable plans to reopen the mines or on how it proposes to retrieve the container in which three mineworkers were buried when a part of the mine collapsed in 2016.

SSC questions how the BRPs can accept the Vantage proposal “with no detail on how the mines will be reopened”, on the retrieval of the container, or the funding required.

Edited by Chanel de Bruyn
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

Comments

The functionality you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.

If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.

If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.

For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION