Global commodities giant Glencore stood little chance of retaining Optimum Coal Mine once project State Capture triggered a full-blown assault designed to wrestle the mine out of its hands.
Testifying before the State Capture commission on Wednesday, Glencore director and formerly CEO of Optimum Coal Holdings , Clinton Ephron, painted a picture of the seven-month campaign that ended in January 2016, when Glencore finally agreed to sell OCH to the Guptas for R2.15-billion. Ephron said the company sent a detailed letter to Molefe to explain the background and reasons for the negotiations and why it was unwise to suggest negotiations could only begin after December 2018, the date upon which Optimum’s contract to supply the Hendrina power station — the only purpose of Optimum’s business — was to expire.
Ephron said the only other way in which Hendrina may be getting coal is via road transport, the cost of which is borne by Eskom. They warned Eskom that its change of heart was damaging to Optimum as an initial green light had convinced lenders and shareholders to extend its financial assistance.