Almost a year
after he suddenly quit the top job at Harmony Gold
Mining, Bernard Swanepoel re-emerged publicly on Friday
with a new plan to use a JSE-listed cash shell as a
vehicle for investing in junior African mining
companies.
The shell is Village Main Reef Gold Mining, a dormant
gold company with a history dating to 1889, which
Swanepoel now wants to turn into a next-generation
resources company.
Village said in a statement to the JSE that Swanepoel's
To The Point Investments had acquired 37.8 percent of
Village from Harmony and another 10 percent from a
long-standing Village shareholder.
Because the shareholding exceeded a 35 percent
controlling threshold, To The Point would make an offer
to minority shareholders in the region of R1 a share,
the statement said.
The news caused Village shares to soar 244 percent to
close at R1.10 on Friday.
Swanepoel left Harmony under a cloud last year, after 12
years at the helm, following news that the group had
overlooked about R250 million in costs in the 2007 first
quarter, causing losses for the second quarter to rise
to R653 million.
Daniel Sachs, the head of resources at Investec Asset
Management, said Swanepoel's reputation as a deal maker
was "still incredibly strong", although he could
encounter problems with delivery credibility.
Swanepoel has long known of Village's potential as a
home for further assets. Harmony acquired its stake in
Village for 20c a share in 2006, triggering market
speculation that it would use the shell company either
to house uranium assets or to split its gold assets.
The gold mining company sold the Village stake to
Swanepoel's company for 46c a share, or just over R1
million.
Sachs said Village was "worthless" to Harmony's current
management team.
Swanepoel told Mineweb that he had kept himself busy
with resources such as platinum and coal as well as a
bit of gold since leaving Harmony, and had learnt one
could access numerous mining assets on the continent.
Village would provide a means for small private
investors to invest in African mining firms that were
starting out, he said.
To The Point would add value through its experience and
technical knowledge of mining. It had yet to discuss its
plans with other Village shareholders, he said.
Swanepoel has kept a low profile since he quit Harmony,
although in January it was reported that he had been
hired by Prairie International as a senior consultant to
help develop the Democratic Republic of Congo's Mukondo
cobalt deposit, held in a joint venture with Central
African Mining and Exploration.
According to the statement to the stock exchange, To The
Point Investments is a subsidiary of To The Point Growth
Specialists, founded by Swanepoel and a co-investor,
Clinton Halsey, to operate mainly in the resources and
resource-related space.
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