MASHILENKOSI CHAIR

Kalagadi Manganese

www.kalahariresources.co.za

The IDC and other partners have faced extreme resistance from Mashile-Nkosi, who charges like a wounded buffalo when faced with criticism or opposition

THE Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) is playing the long game as it seeks to recover R3bn in taxpayers’ money it sank into the Kalagadi Manganese mine and sinter more than a decade ago. This has not been easy, as the IDC and other partners have faced resistance from the company’s chair, Daphne Mashile-Nkosi, who is sensitive to criticism or opposition. The IDC is calling for an improvement in the technical management of the mine, management changes at head office, and a new funding solution. With its loan not being serviced, it attempted two years ago to put Kalagadi into business rescue, which Mashile-Nkosi opposed. An alternative solution of mediation also failed, as she accused the state-owned entity of bad faith. A settlement is in the works, says IDC CEO Tshokolo Nchocho, but the timing is unclear. He commented last year that his organisation had no objection to Kalagadi’s request to sell assets to repay debt. Kalagadi also owes an estimated R2.9bn to the African Development Bank. The fact that the Northern Cape operation has not generated sufficient cash to make significant inroads into its debts over the past two years, when global manganese prices have been favourable, is, according to Mashile-Nkosi, the fault of the mining contractor. Nchocho’s belief is that the mine needs a recapitalisation — just not from the IDC. Although it may look as though the IDC is being uncooperative, it is notable that Mashile-Nkosi has had disputes with previous partners. For example, ArcelorMittal, one of the founding shareholders, sold its 50% stake in 2012, also expressing concerns about corporate governance.

Life Of Daphne

Mashile-Nkosi headed a group of entrepreneurs who founded Kalagadi Manganese in 2001, and the company received a permit to explore for manganese in 2005. The deal was a victory over adversity and helped crown Mashile-Nkosi’s reputation as a dogged, trailblazing entrepreneur, a true standard-bearer for women in mining. She has consequently won accolades for her leadership, which she describes as “autocratic, with a feminine touch”. She was unable to complete matric as she participated in the 1976 student uprising, but later obtained a Small Business Management Diploma from Wits Business School.

JOSEPH Mathunjwa maintained the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu’s) truce with former arch-rival the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in 2022, a development bringing much-needed labour stability to South Africa’s mining sector. For almost a decade, Amcu and NUM were at each other’s throats in a violent turf war that claimed scores of lives and sparked waves of labour unrest. In 2022, Mathunjwa began referring to Amcu’s partnership with NUM as “Numco”, pointedly donning shirts bearing that logo. This joining of hands could be seen as a sign of weakness among South Africa’s unions, and wage talks involving NUM and Amcu underlined the point that members have lost their appetite for strikes. The two unions did embark on an over three-month strike at Sibanye-Stillwater’s South African gold operations, but the result delivered little for their members. NUM and Amcu — or Numco — signed a number of fiveyear wage agreements with platinum producers in 2022, including Sibanye, without any resort to strike action. That may suggest that Mathunjwa’s past militancy has cooled as Amcu has matured as a union. But Mathunjwa can still get fired up: in August 2022, at the 10th anniversary of the Marikana Massacre — a tragic incident that saw police shoot dead 34 workers taking part in a violent wildcat strike at the Marikana platinum mine, then operated by Lonmin — Mathunjwa said justice required the jailing of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Ramaphosa had been a director at Lonmin and famously called for “concomitant action” to deal with the strike. Looking ahead, Mathunjwa may struggle to retain Amcu’s membership numbers as employee numbers in the mining sector gradually decline and as the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) tries to muscle into its turf on the platinum belt.

Life Of Joseph

Hailing from South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province, Mathunjwa formed Amcu in 1999 as a breakaway from NUM. Amcu was little known until 2012, when it literally overthrew the NUM as the dominant union on the platinum belt. Mathunjwa of late has become more accommodating to both union rivals and companies. A Salvationist Christian, he is a charismatic speaker when fired up. However, his tone in recent years seems to have mellowed somewhat from his past calls for strident class warfare. Depending on the setting, he can be disarmingly charming and is known for texting biblical verses to contacts, including mining executives and journalists.