* Few parties have shown interest for co’s Hollister mining
project in Nevada
* Looking at jobs cuts in Johannesburg corporate office
By Shounak Dasgupta and Bhaswati Mukhopadhyay
Aug 15 (Reuters) – Precious metals miner Great Basin Gold
Ltd said its CEO had quit and the company might be
sold, after problems at its mines led to a cash crunch.
Shares of the South Africa-focused company almost halved to
a 14-year low of 22 Canadian cents on the Toronto Stock
Exchange.
Chief Executive Ferdi Dippenaar resigned as part of a
process to consider strategic options such as a sale of the
company or a portion of it, Great Basin said in a statement.
Buyers for the company, if it is sold, could include South
Africa’s Gold Fields Ltd, AngloGold Ashanti Ltd
and Harmony Gold Mining Company Ltd. But
Dahlman Rose analyst Adam Graf said there were only a handful of
potential suitors.
“Most western companies would continue to shy away from
South Africa due to the political risks there,” he said.
South African miners have been grappling with union
militancy, demand for higher wages and proposed higher mining
taxes.
Continued…
