JOHANNESBURG () -- Mining exploration company Thabex Exploration [JSE:TBX] has become embroiled in a legal action brought by Anglo American [Nasdaq:AAUK; LSE:AAL] to defend applications for prospecting rights by its coal division, Anglo Coal.
It emerged from the litigation statement in Thabex Exploration's latest annual report that its subsidiary, Abarawaki Investments, has been cited as a respondent, together with the minerals and energy minister, in a legal action brought by Anglo Operations, an Anglo American company.
Last week, the Financial Mail reported that Anglo Platinum had brought similar actions against the minerals and energy department for refusing to grant prospecting rights on four properties.
Anglo American spokeswoman Anne Dunn said yesterday that Anglo Coal was in the process of applying for various prospecting rights from the department and negotiations were continuing to resolve the issues that would allow those rights to be granted.
Anglo Coal had issued court papers on the department to reserve its legal rights while negotiations proceeded. As a result of the negotiations, Anglo Coal had received some of its prospecting rights and, depending on the further outcome of the negotiations, the legal process could continue.
Anglo Coal was confident of receiving its prospecting rights and continuing its growth programme in South Africa, Dunn said.
Abarawaki was cited as a respondent because it was considered an interested party, having received a notice of acceptance from the department on a prospecting right over an area held by Anglo Coal.
Webber Wentzel Bowens partner Manus Booysen said he could not comment on the specifics of Anglo American's case. However, the minister had very limited powers in terms of the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act to decline applications for conversions of prospecting rights, for which the deadline was April 30. The law did provide for mining companies to obtain a "mandamus", or order to compel the minister to process both conversions and new applications.
Thabex chairman Jeffrey Rapoo also said in the company's annual report that one of the main reasons for a lack of interest among mining exploration companies in applying for listing on the JSE or AltX was that the JSE had no mining department.
Instead, the JSE used the South African Mineral Resources Committee (Samrec) readers to regulate new mining listings and ongoing obligations for mining and exploration companies.
Many of the Samrec readers were related to the mining companies and other consulting firms, so the resulting process was very time-consuming and "not an independent review of new mining and exploration projects," Rapoo said.
For this reason, South Africa had missed the biggest mining boom of all time because "'big' remains 'beautiful' and risk is only to be taken on large capitalisation mining companies," he said.
Takeover Speculation
In other news today, speculation that a major Chinese industrial group had been around the market attempting to buy 3% of takeover target Anglo got dealers excited. Shares of the mining giant rallied sharply from a depressed level of 2059 pence to touch 2161 pence before closing 2 pence dearer at 2140 pence.
Anglos has been the subject of break-up talk as the group searches for a replacement for chief executive Tony Trahar who leaves in March. Brazil's CVRD [NYSE:RIO], Xstrata [LSE:XTA] and Rio Tinto [NYSE:RTP] were recently rumoured to have told financial advisers to buy Anglos, but the market still awaits confirmation.
Anglo Partnership
And in other news still, Anglo said in a statement today that it had signed a joint development agreement with oil company Shell [NYSE:RDS-B] on the Monash Energy project in Victoria, Australia.
During next year, the first phase of the deal would have been completed, according to Anglo. This phase will see advisers from both companies studying the commercial and technical aspects of the project.
Anglo says the Monash project would involve Shell's coal gasification and diesel production technology using Anglo's brown coal production in Victoria's Latrobe Valley. With Reuters.
