The fire sale of mines by big mining companies in South Africa to deal with a six-year slump in commodity prices could fast-track transformation in the industry. South Africa's mining industry has a long and chequered past of exploiting cheap black labour. Now, certain industry players say that with mining companies such as Anglo American announcing the sale of more than 60% of its assets, black business people could pick up those assets to transfer some ownership of the sector into black hands.Anglo said this week it would restructure radically after battling with sliding commodity prices for the past six years and a significant slowdown in demand from China.It hoped to sell about 30 of its mining operations across the globe, many of which would be in South Africa, especially in platinum, iron ore and coal. Anglo said it would sell assets or even close those losing money in the hope of surviving the commodity slump.Sipho Dube, CEO of Endulwini Resources, a black-owned coal mining company, said he was interested, but it depended on what Anglo was selling, within which structures and at what prices.story_article_left1"The problem at the moment with Anglo is that they have been trying to structure a bill that suits them. Unfortunately, it's not going to help the country, and some of those assets are overpriced."Dube said this was a chance to diversify the industry and develop new projects. "Irrespective of whether the assets are in their sunset or not, it can [lead to] real transformation because you can utilise the cash flow while they [empowerment partners] are still generating some money."If coal assets were sold to empowerment partners Inyosi, which already owned 27%, it would be a good start, despite the environmental problems with coal, he said.Anglo CEO Mark Cutifani acknowledged that iron ore and coal were in a tough market and the company would have to see whether assets with these two minerals were competitive or should be got rid of.According to the empowerment charter for mining and minerals, there should be a minimum of 26% black ownership in the industry. This was a target that the Department of Mineral Resources and the Chamber of Mines agreed on. However, the chamber has said the sector has 38% black ownership, using the "once empowered always empowered" principle that the department is disputing.Dube said real transformation would happen only if Anglo and other mining companies went up to a black person and said: "We have this asset and these are the challenges we are facing with it, are you interested in looking at it?"story_article_right2He said: "That's the type of business we should be doing [rather] than this business of selling [only] the noncore [assets]."Ryan Seaborne, portfolio manager at 36ONE Asset Management, differed with Dube and did not see Anglo's sale of noncore assets as a way of transforming the sector.He said selling these noncore assets to black companies would be no different to the rights issue by Lonmin, backed by the Public Investment Corporation, as it would be throwing money at "poor assets"."They are really bad assets which Anglo needs to get rid of and they should be closing down, otherwise it's a complete waste of assets."Nomura economist Peter Attard Montalto said: "[If] international companies [could] partner with the [department] to help create local champions, however unsustainable, through the divestment process, [it would] be the smoothest process with the least risk on existing operations."Anglo American said the announcement of which assets were unprofitable and to be sold would be made in February next year.prinslool@sundaytimes.co.za, mtonganal@sundaytimes.co.za..