Stress takes its toll

Monday’s abrupt departure of CEO Alon Davidov and CFO Chris Hall from London-listed Shaft Sinkers, the specialists in sinking deep mine shafts, and news that the firm has defaulted on payment due to Standard Bank, cap a torrid year for mining.

In other signs of the stress on the industry from weak commodities prices and lack of funding support, ASX-listed Zyl Resources went into voluntary administration on Friday, and AIM-listed Mozambican coal miner Beacon Hill Resources did so on Monday.

At Shaft Sinkers, former Basil Read CEO Marius Heyns, who was nonexecutive chairman, has taken over as executive chairman.

In the past few months Shaft Sinkers has lost three Implats contracts. It still has contracts at Hindustan Zinc, the Randgold Resources and AngloGold Ashanti Kibali gold mine in the DRC, and the Royal Bafokeng Platinum and Anglo Platinum Styldrift mine in SA. At end August its order book stood at £238m, including a recent award in Kazakhstan.

It was planning a £9,2m refinancing through the issue of convertible loan notes but Heyns warned this week that the refinancing was unlikely to be as originally announced.

Charlotte Mathews mathewsc@fm.co.za