Village takes control of Blyvoor as deal is approved

VILLAGE Main Reef will finalise its strategy in the month ahead for operating the Blyvoor mine it is buying from DRDGOLD in a transaction that was unconditionally approved by the Competition Commission last week.

The first part of a two-phase structure to effect the transaction was completed with the commission’s approval and Village now had management control, Village joint CEO Marius Saaiman said on Friday. The Blyvoor board would be reconstituted and Village appointees would be in the majority, he said.

“We’ve got a very good idea what it is we want to do at Blyvoor. A lot of what DRDGOLD put into the restructuring was very similar to what we would have done if we had the asset,” he said.

The Blyvoor mine will join the Buffelsfontein and Tau Lekoa gold mines Village acquired when it acquired Simmer & Jack’s mining assets.

The second part of the transaction, which will entail Village taking ownership of Blyvoor, is largely contingent on approval from the Department of Mineral Resources approving the transfer of mineral rights to Village from DRDGOLD.

The application for the transfer will be filed within a month, Mr Saaiman said.

Village had had a good experience so far with the transfer of mineral rights, having completed the acquisition of Consolidated Murchison from Metorex, he said.

DRDGOLD has restructured the mine, cutting back the workforce. That means Village will be taking over a very different mine from the one that DRDGOLD has been operating.

Village and DRDGOLD have waived all conditions related to the acquisition of neighbouring land owned by Anglogold Ashanti at the Savuka operation that Village would like to add to Blyvoor, Mr Saaiman said.

“It’s not a condition to the transaction which allows us the flexibility to negotiate with Anglogold on our terms when we get to that stage,” he said.