Picture: The miners at a disused mine/Generic
By OBAKENG MAJE
27 February2025 – A coal mine in Mpumalanga that was acquired by a group of retrenched mine workers, who lost their jobs when the former owners stopped operation is struggling to make a breakthrough in the industry. This was discovered by the Portfolio Committee on Mineral and Petroleum Resources yesterday during an oversight visit to Arnot Opco Coal Mine in the Steve Tshwete Local Municipality.
The Chairperson of Portfolio Committee on Mineral and Petroleum Resources, Mikateko Mahlaule, said after Exxaro stopped mining and retrenched 1500 workers in 2015 when its coal supply contract with Eskom could not be renewed, a group of eight former Exarro employees formed a company, Innovators Resources, and approached their former employer to take over the mine.
Mahlaule said they also established a trust for the benefit of about 1 029 other former employees of the mine and partnered with Wescoal as a shareholder, which at the time was listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). He said, however, Arnot Opco management told the committee yesterday that because Wescoal had failed to make available the R150 million in funding they had previously committed and also because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the mine could not operate fully.
“Now the company is struggling to raise funding, as lenders are reluctant to fund companies in distress and also it is difficult to find funding for coal projects due to the global shift towards clean energy.
“Currently there is no mining taking place at Arnot Opco, instead the mine buys coal from third parties, washes it and sells to their clients. However, plans are underway to appoint contractors to reopen the mine and create jobs for some of the retrenched workers,” said Mahlaule.
He further heard that Arnot Opco is currently under business rescue and is also involved in a court battle with Wescoal. Mahlaule added that Wescoal is also under business rescue and its listing on the JSE has been suspended.
“The committee would like to see the company succeed and become a big player in the coal mining industry. The last thing we want is to see the transaction fail.
“We want the mine to be a success. We want to see this model, which we have not seen before, succeed. You must also have regard for the community and not extract and leave,” he said.
The Guardian 