About 3 000 jobs have been saved in the mining sector following Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane’s approval of Lonmin’s application to acquire Anglo Platinum’s 42.5% stake in Pandora, a joint venture between Lonmin and Anglo Platinum.
The company was due to be placed under care and maintenance, thus placing 3 000 jobs at risk.
“Lonmin came and presented its case to us, and one of our primary considerations when assessing their application was how we were best going to prevent retrenchments at the mine.
“We are indeed pleased that we have been able to save 3 000 jobs, particularly in the current global economic climate,” Minister Zwane said in a statement.
The Minister granted consent for the cession of the right, in terms of Section 11 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA).
The granting of the consent is further subject to Lonmin presenting a plan to the department within five days, on how it will address its BBBEE compliance, as we cannot afford a situation where transformation is compromised.
“We are a reasonable Regulator, and apply our laws consistently to all right-holders. We continue to appeal to right-holders to make use of our open-door policy and engage with us frankly and openly on issues pertaining to this critical sector of our economy. We will always put the interests of South Africa and its people first in all our deliberations,” Minister Zwane said.
