HENDRINA – Liberty Coal is gearing up to reopen the former Gupta-owned Optimum Coal Mine (OCM) after reaching an agreement with the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) board.
Following a lengthy standoff between the two entities, RBCT announced on 22 March 2024 that it has lifted the suspension of Optimum Coal Terminal’s (OCT) port entitlement to Liberty Coal Terminal (LCT), the new owners of OCM. This allows for the utilization of both the rail allocation and port entitlement.
RBCT, along with the business rescue practitioners (BRPs), LCT, OCM, and OCT, confirmed in a joint statement that they have reached an agreement on the terms and conditions under which coal from the Optimum mine will commence being exported through the RBCT terminal as soon as the necessary rail arrangements with Transnet are finalized.
“Absent anything unforeseen arising, the parties expect the first coal to be railed to the RBCT terminal in early April 2024,” stated the joint announcement.
“Liberty Coal and the business rescue practitioners of OCM and OCT will, in the meantime, continue with the implementation of the OCM and OCT business rescue plans and the supporting transaction agreements, with the view to ensuring that all necessary registrations relating to the transfer of OCM’s mining assets, including all immovable properties, are as far as possible completed on or before 31 January 2025.”
On 2 February, Liberty Coal negotiated a R462 million agreement with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), saving OCM from being forfeited to the state.
A planned reopening of the mine had to be cancelled on 8 March after alleged RBCT’s refusal to give Liberty Coal OCT’s train allocation.
On 15 March, Liberty Coal, through the Mpumalanga Action Movement (MAM), organized a peaceful march to Glencore offices in Melrose Arch, Sandton, accusing Glencore, one of RBCT’s shareholders, of colluding with other shareholding companies to deny Liberty Coal the use of port entitlement.
“We are indeed pleased that the shareholders of RBCT saw it prudent to heed our peaceful demands as propagated in our protest action at the headquarters of Glencore, Friday 15 March 2024,” MAM said in response to the latest developments. “The heeding of our demands within the set timeframe has ensured that no further unnecessary disruptions occur as a means of reaching finality on the matter, however this further annotates the importance of united and peaceful community protest action as an effective tool of democratic expression against the mighty and powerful.”
