Aurora rescue on the cards

There might be light at the end of the tunnel for Aurora and Pamodzi Gold.

There is a strong possibility that the Grootvlei and Orkney mines will emerge from being run on a care-and-maintenance basis to become gold producers again.

There was a meeting on Wednesday in Sandton, Johannesburg, between representatives of a state-owned Chinese mining company, and Aurora Empowerment Systems, the Pamodzi liquidators, and legal and financial consultants.

The Chinese company, which will not identify itself before a deal is struck, is listed on the Chinese and Hong Kong stock exchanges.

According to Pamodzi liquidator Enver Motala, the Chinese delegation consisted of senior board members, and compliance and operations experts.

The experts have conducted due diligence investigations and have tested ore samples from Grootvlei and Orkney.

"The Chinese company expressed its serious interest in doing a deal with Aurora Empowerment Systems," said Motala.

The company wanted to acquire between 60% and 65% of Aurora for about R695-million, he said.

Aurora owes about R600-million for the Pamodzi Gold assets, which are not operating because of inadequate cash flow.

Motala told BusinessLIVE that the identity of the prospective buyer, one of the top 100 companies in China, could not be divulged before notification of the deal was completed in China.

He said the company manages 22 mines in China, most of them producing gold, some manganese and chrome.

In terms of the liquidation requirements, the deadline for a deal has been extended to December 17.