Optimum mine ‘well run’ before Guptas

THE National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) says the Optimum Coal Mine was well managed before it was sold off to Gupta-owned Tegeta, a move it says brought the mine to its knees.

The union told Parliament’s portfolio committee on mineral resources yesterday that workers were not being paid under the management of Tegeta, and were worried about the possible sale of the mine.

The NUM branch secretary at the Optimum mine, Richard Mguzulu, said: “We have seen that since Tegeta took over that mine in 2016, the situation deteriorated severely. The machinery that used to be there is no more maintained.

“The personal protective equipment that was used, clothes we wear when we work, you find sometimes that they are not available.

“We could see that at any time this mine might close, and we were worried that should we keep quiet, our lives will be negatively affected.”

Mguzulu said the Mpumalanga mine, which has two opencast operations, two underground operations and two processing plants, still had potential.

However, he added that the management of Optimum could prematurely shorten its lifespan.

“That mine still has a lot of coal. Its lifespan is 20-32 years… But the way the mine goes now, you can see that it is going to be closed at anytime,” said Mguzulu.

He claimed that the union had on several occasions tried to speak to Optimum management on the security of their jobs, but did not get answers.

“After the announcement that the Bank of Baroda, which was the only bank that was doing business with Tegeta, was moving away from South Africa, that made us worry a lot,” said Mguzulu.

The Optimum mine, according to the Department of Mineral Resources’ presentation, could not pay its employees due to banking woes with the Bank of Baroda.

The mine has been placed under business rescue, adding to the six other Gupta-owned companies placed under business rescue in recent months.

Business rescue practitioners have been appointed to control the affairs of the Gupta-owned companies, which include Tegeta Resources, Optimum Coal Mine and Shiva Uranium.

Meanwhile, the NUM branch chairperson at Optimum, Goodwill Mthombeni, said he did not comprehend why a company that was making billions of rand could be placed in business rescue.

He charged that the process was a cover-up and “fake”.