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NEWS - CONTINUED MAY 2018 • E&MJ; 27 www.e-mj.com NEWS - CALENDAR OF EVENTS JUNE 4-8, 2018: Elko Mining Expo, Elko, Nevada, USA. Contact: Web: www.elkocva.com/major_events/elko_mining_expo. JUNE 5-8, 2018: Ugol Rossii & Mining, Novokuznetsk, Russia. Contact: Web: www.ugol-rossii.com/. JUNE 12-14, 2018: Euro Mine Expo, Skellefteå, Sweden. Contact: Email: jaana.tengman@euromineexpo.com; Web: www.euromineexpo.com. AUGUST 6-8, 2018: Diggers and Dealers Mining Forum, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. Contact: Web: http://diggersndealers.com.au. SEPTEMBER 10-14, 2018: Electra Mining Africa, Expo Centre Nasrec, Johannesburg, South Africa. Contact: Web: www.electramining.co.za. SEPTEMBER 20-22, 2018: China Mining 2018, Tianjin Meijiang Con- vention Center, Tianjin, Peoples Republic of China. Contact: Web: www.chinaminingtj.org. DECEMBER 3-7, 2018: American Exploration & Mining Association annual meeting, Spokane, Washington, USA. Contact: Web: www.miningamerica.org. JANUARY 27-30, 2019: 45 th Annual Conference on Explosives and Blast- ing Techniques, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. Contact: Web: www.isee.org. FEBRUARY 24-27, 2019: SME Annual Conference & Expo, Denver, Colorado, USA. Contact: Web: www.smeannualconference.com. MARCH 3-6, 2019: Prospectors & Developers Association of Cana- da's annual conference, Metro Convention Center, Toronto, Canada. Contact: Web: www.pdac.ca. MARCH 10-13, 2019: Haulage & Loading, Hilton El Conquistador Resort, Tucson, Arizona, USA. Contact: Web: www.haulageandloading.com. APRIL 2-4, 2019: MiningWorld Russia, Crocus Expo, Moscow, Russia. Contact: Web: www.miningworld.ru. APRIL 8-14, 2019: Bauma, Messe Muenchen, Munich, Germany. Contact: Web: www.bauma.de. MAY 7-9, 2019: Arminera, Centro Costa Salguero, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Contact: Web: www.arminera.com.ar. MAY 10-13, 2019: Longwall USA, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Contact: Web: www.longwallusa.com. thanks to their influence over former pres- ident Jacob Zuma. Until recently, the Guptas influence extended to the hiring and firing of se- nior officials including the mines min- ister and senior Eskom executives. A parliamentary investigation is now under way to discover the extent of their grip on state assets that they used to secure lu- crative state contracts for their expand- ing business empire. Tegeta's prize asset is the Optimum coal mine, which it acquired under du- bious circumstances from Swiss-based Glencore in 2015. At the time, Glencore had little option but to sell the operation, after Eskom hit it with around $200 mil- lion in penalties for quality issues. Es- kom also refused to renegotiate purchas- es contracts that resulted in Optimum selling its coal to local power stations below cost. The Guptas swept in and bought Opti- mum, and soon after, Eskom waived the penalties it had issued against the com- pany. Eskom also renegotiated the price it was paying for Optimum coal upward, ensuring the mine was once again profit- able. It has since emerged that the Gup- ta's included several of Eskom's board, including ex-chairman Brian Molefe with- in their circle of friends. However, the fortunes of the Guptas began to swiftly unravel after Cyril Rama- phosa won the presidency of the ruling African National Congress at its elective in December last year. By March, he was president of South Africa as well. Ramaphosa has since replaced the country's mining minister — also part of the Gupta inner circle — and appointed the respected technocrat Pravin Gordhan to administer state operations such as Es- kom. Gordhan in turn has taken the ax to the Eskom board, booting Gupta support- ers out the door. The Guptas themselves have fled to Dubai, and will likely be the subject of an international arrest warrant as local crimefighters build a case against them. Meanwhile, their company Tegeta has filed bankruptcy, which has severely ham- pered operations at its mines including Optimum. "Other coal supply challenges at Es- kom's Arnot‚ Hendrina and Komati power stations arise from the dysfunctional Teg- eta coal mining operations‚ that have left Eskom high-and-dry in the months prior and subsequent to the Gupta mines filing for business rescue in February 2018," Yelland said. With new management at Eskom trying to clean itself up after years of corruption — while still trying to balance its books and keep the country's lights on — treasury officials say they have given permission to waive normal tender pro- cedures. This will allow Eskom to source coal wherever it can find it and ignore rules that require it to buy from mostly black-owned companies. South Africa's bankruptcy process is similar to that of the U.S., and Teg- eta together with its assets will be ad- ministered by court appointed officials, whose job includes keeping the mines functioning. With the Guptas in the wind, admin- istrators are now looking for new owners. Glencore, essentially swindled out of its prize South African coal asset by the Guptas together with Eskom, may bid to retake Optimum. Administrators for Tegeta told parlia- ment recently that they are seeking al- ternative funding for the mines, to keep them and the 1,500 or so employees working. It won't be easy. State rail op- erator Transnet has suspended services to Optimum, costing it around 350,000 tons per month in exports. Rivals such as Exxaro have said they will try and acquire Optimum's export quotas, although not the mine itself. Should Optimum fail to keep up pro- duction, it is likely that coal resources will drop further, and South Africa could once again experience cold hard winter of regular power cuts. (News-This Month In Coal - from p. 24)