Wow! What a story.
Driefontein is going to swallow its own tail thereby becoming Goldfields. In the process, all connections between AngloGold and Goldfields are to be severed. AngloGold ends up with money, Goldfields, ostensibly free at last from Anglo, ends up with debt of R700m! No wonder the Chairman of Goldfields, appearing on TV this evening, looked so sullen while he proclaimed the "blue sky" potential for Dries. Dries shares fell on the JSE, today, to below R24. But Anglo got R30! And a similar offer will NOT be made to other Dries shareholders.
So, it seems that soon it will be impossible to buy directly into any SAf gold mine. Every mine will be held in association with a bunch of others. Every mining company will be a mining "financial" or, possibly, a "conglomerate". And of course, the HQ of all the companies will be in London with its primary listing on the LSE. The days of purely "South African" gold mining are nearly over! And, who says a cartel is not on the horizon?! |
