By IANS
Kimberly (South Africa) : A South African-based manganese producing company has unveiled an empowerment deal which, it says, will allow black population in Northern Cape to participate in a significant way in the economic activity of the region.
The deal will see Samancor Manganese – one of the world’s leading producers of manganese – together with its partner, Ntsimbintle Mining, creating a new mining company, Hotazel Manganese Mines, and will lead to increased participation in the economy by black communities from the Northern Cape province, BuaNews reported Tuesday.
Ntsimbintle is a broad-based consortium made up of mainly of black entities like Safika Resources, Nkonjane, Wiphold, Northern Cape Women in Mining, the Kgalagadi Development Trust, the Natural Resources Empowerment Fund, the Retrenched Workers Association, the Hotazel Women’s Association and the Northern Cape Community Business Men.
“The transaction provides Ntsimbintle immediate ownership of highly profitable assets and their associated cash flow, whilst Samancor gains access to further resources and reserves, some of which can be immediately accessed from existing Samancor mine operations,” Smancor said Monday.
Sabelo Macingwane, also of Ntsimbintle, said Northern Cape communities, who are shareholders in Ntsimbintle, now have a meaningful participation in the local economy through Hotazel Mines.
“We welcome this partnership with Samancor, which is the leading manganese producer in the world,” said Ntsimbintle’s Saki Macozoma.
“This transaction will facilitate the advancement of black economic empowerment in the Northern Cape,” chairman of BHP Billiton SA, which holds majority, Vincent Maphai said.
BHP Billiton added that the transaction is subject to approval by the Department of Minerals and Energy for the transfer of Ntsimbintle’s prospecting rights and Samancor’s mining and prospecting rights to Hotazel Mines.