Optimum: ‘death threats will not stop case’

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) says the resignation of the court-appointed curator of Optimum Coal Mine (OCM) following death threats would not derail the legal process.

Curator Peter van den Steen was appointed to play an oversight role at Optimum after the NPA obtained a court order in March last year freezing Optimum’s assets, which was granted on the grounds they were acquired from the proceeds of crime.

News24 reported this month that Van den Steen had decided to quit. He declined to talk to Business Times, citing the death threats against him and his family.

NPA spokesperson Sindisiwe Seboka said the threats against Van den Steen were pointless because they would not change anything in the long run.

Seboka said Van den Steen had been acting as an officer of the court under the instructions of the court. “His removal will not have any effect on the asset forfeiture case or the criminal case by the Investigating Directorate. Neither will it affect the way the case is conducted. The case will not disappear because of threats.”

She said that when a curator resigns, an application must be brought to release him from his duties and the NPA “will simultaneously apply for his replacement”.

The NPA is also seeking to have Optimum’s assets forfeited to state ownership. The company, previously owned by the Gupta family, has been under curatorship since 2018.

Seboka acknowledged the new curator would have a difficult task, and would need a degree of courage. “However, the curator [Van den Steen] indicated that he is committed to doing a proper handover to his successor. It won’t be easy to replace the knowledge and experience of Van den Steen but it can and will be done.”

Another issue facing Optimum is the withdrawal by the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) of its export allocation.

At a media conference on Thursday, RBCT CEO Alan Waller said the board had met to consider additional information and had reaffirmed its decision to withdraw the allocation arrangement. “The board’s decision stands that Optimum’s access to its entitlement is suspended with effect from [Tuesday] January 31,” he said, adding that legal proceedings had commenced.

Waller said the rules allowed for the temporary transfer of export allocations in the event of default, as was the case with Optimum. “It is a temporary transfer; the opportunity is always there for a shareholder to correct the defaulting position.”

The export allocation was withdrawn because subcontractors were mining the site rather than Optimum itself. The business rescue practitioners now running the company said Optimum had not had the funds to operate the mine itself, and had therefore signed leases with mini-pit operators.

The lawyer for the joint business rescue practitioners, Bouwer van Niekerk, said they would launch an urgent court application in response to RBCT’s decision. “We do, however, remain positive that the matter can be resolved without the need for judicial determination,” he said.

National Union of Mineworkers Highveld region chair Bizzah Motubatse said loss of the export allocation posed a risk to the local economy and called on the department of mineral resources & energy to intervene.

“We are mobilising the masses for a day of action. We will lead a march and give them [the RBCT board] seven days to reconsider the ill-conceived decision which will have a negative affect on the colliery.”

Seboka said the NPA fully supported the RBCT board’s decision, saying the arrangement with the business rescue practitioners had been “abused” and was benefiting a small group of mini-pit operators.

“Had Optimum conducted its own mining activities, or if the mini-pit operators conducted their operations for the benefit of OCM, OCM’s profits would have been sufficient to settle, in full, all OCM’s creditors at current coal prices, and OCM would be able to exit business rescue within several months,” she said.

Seboka said the NPA was aware that many people had lost their jobs at the mine before and during the business rescue process before the NPA became involved and that they hoped to get their jobs back at some stage. “For this reason, the NPA has expressed its desire to, once the mine is forfeited, sell it in a transparent process so that the mine can start full operations as soon as possible.”