State mining firm transfer set for this year

THE DEPARTMENT of Mineral Resources has given its strongest indication yet on the transfer of the state-owned African Exploration Mining and Finance Corporation (AEMFC) from the Central Energy Fund (CEF) to the department, saying that it will happen this financial year.

The department said yesterday that while there were no fixed dates for the transfer, it would be done by the end of the financial year.

The transfer of AEMFC happened after Mineral Resources Minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi announced in Parliament during his budget vote last Thursday that this would happen in due course.

The CEF said yesterday that it would make a statement on this matter in due course.

In a briefing to journalists before his budget speech, Ramatlhodi said the transfer bill, which had yet to be processed, did not create another stateowned mining company.

He said they were simply moving AEMFC from the CEF to the hands of the department.

Ramatlhodi also gave assurance that the transfer of AEMFC from the CEF to his department did not mean it would be run by his department.

He said the mine would continue to conduct its business in the same way it had been doing over the past few years.

“This would not mean that the director-general (Thibedi Ramontja) becomes the chief executive of the state mining company,” he said.

Ramatlhodi said this would be done within the framework of the law, as the government respected due processes. The processes would be set in place to allow for this to happen.

AEMFC was created in 2011 following a resolution of the ANC conference in Polokwane in 2007 for the establishment of a state-owned mining company.

The ANC resolution said this policy was needed for the state to have a major stake in the mining sector.

AEMFC, which is based in Ogies in Mpumalanga, was a profitable business and Ramatlhodi confirmed that it was doing well. He said it would continue to be run along the same lines. It would also enjoy the autonomy it enjoyed currently, with no direct involvement of the state.

In the same briefing, Ramatlhodi also announced that they were in discussions with the Department of Public Enterprises for the transfer of the Northern Cape-based mining company Alexkor to his department. He said once the discussions had been concluded more information would be made available.

The Department of Public Enterprises would not comment on what the minister had said.