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14 January, 2008
Aquarius Platinum was flagged first for breaking the trust to jointly improve safety in South Africa’s mines. The company boasted to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange that it had won a clean bill-of-health from the nation’s Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) at two of its South African mines. It had not.
“I would like to state categorically that the DME has not yet cleared any SA mine as part of the audit process,” said the DME, referring to a President Mbeki-commissioned safety audit of all South African mines following the near-tragedy at Harmony Gold on 3 October 2007 when 3,200 miners were trapped for up to 38 hours.
“Claims by the company that it has received a ‘clean bill-of-health’ or that it has ‘passed’ the ‘Presidential Audit’ are thus unfounded,” the DME said in the statement to refute Aquarius Platinum’s claim to capital markets.
In the middle of last week’s controversy, which the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) aptly dubbed, ‘Tell No Lies, Claim No Easy Victories,’ a contract worker was killed at Marikana, one of the mines in the Bushveld belt of North West Province that Aquarius claimed was DME certified. That death occurred on 8 January. A company spokesman, contacted 10 January by Mining Weekly, said the company would stand by its stock market statement.
NUM Gen. Sec. Frans Baleni
The NUM was quick to denounce Aquarius for the false boast, calling it “a reflection of how playful the industry is when dealing with the lives of people.” NUM General Secretary Frans Baleni said the company must be more sensitive and to refrain from such deviant behaviour. Baleni said NUM does not “have the slightest doubt that the audits are going to produce something contrary” at Aquarius mines.
Aquarius Platinum operates the Kroondal, Marikana, and Everest platinum mines in South Africa, and is a joint venture partner in the Mimosa platinum mine in Zimbabwe. It also operates a chromite ore tailings treatment plant near Kroondal. Based in Australia, the 12-year-old company saw 300% income growth between 2005 and 2006, as well experiencing a sales growth of nearly 100% in that period. Impala Platinum controls a sizeable minority stake in Aquarius.