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The 16th of August 2012, has inscribed a never to be forgotten 'moment' in the history of postapartheid South Africa when the South African Police Service (SAPS) opened fire on striking Lonmin (Pic) mine workers, killing 34 and injuring 78 in Marikana, North West Province. The workers were part of an unprecedented strike wave on the platinum belt, which had begun at Impala Platinum Holdings (Implats) at the beginning of 2012, spread to Lonmin that August and to Anglo American Platinum (Am plats) in September. At the heart ofthe strikes was the demand for a 'living wage'- a clarion call that would be taken up by workers at other platinum mines, the gold, coal, transport and agriculture sectors and for a short while left the country in political and economic turmoil .This platinum belt strike wave was not led by the unions but by workers themselves. Workers emphatically refused to be represented by their unions and opted to form alternative structures of representation called the independent workers committees. This thesis examines these structures and the deadly contestation over representation that developed. It analyses the driving forces behind these committees, why they were formed, how they were formed and how they managed to self-organise, mobilise the mine workers, and engage directly in negotiations with management. This thesis argues, that a close examination of the workers committees is seminal to understanding the current nature of the South African working class and whether it is reasserting democratic control over trade union organisation, and whether the workers' committees represent a challenge to the corporatist arrangements that have underpinned the post-apartheid 'social contract' between labour and capital mediated through the state, since 1994.

Thesis--Wisconsin. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 193-202).

Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) in the mining sector is dependent on regulatory imperatives and stakeholder interactions. Despite the regulatory drivers however, mining empowerment transactions, like any other financial transactions, must be based on sound economic and financial fundamentals so as to ensure their sustainability. The purpose of this research was to investigate the factors influencing financial structures in mining empowerment transactions in South Africa. BEE within the mining sector has been at the forefront of transformation and empowerment within the economy, however academic literature on the drivers or factors influencing mining empowerment transactions, their evolution and the roles played by mining stakeholders, is limited at best, hence the motivation behind the research. Exploratory research and qualitative analysis methodology were carried out in this research. Specifically, in-depth face-to-face interviews with eleven experts in the field of BEE transactions were performed. The results confirmed that: the financial vehicles available to BEE investors were dependent on the macro-environment of business; financier risk was a function of ineffectual deal structuring; the type and level of debt structuring was the key factor in financial structuring and greatly influenced the success of the deal; and, lastly, that joint ventures (JVs) were in essence strategic alliances to meet the fundamental objectives of mineral rights conversions and an increase of black capital in the economy, as opposed to partnerships based primarily on operational equality. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Diss. Stockholm : Kungliga tekniska högskolan, 2005.

Several researchers and practitioners have claimed that economic value added is superior to traditional accounting measures in driving shareholder value. Other researchers have refuted these claims by supplying data in support of traditional accounting indicators such as EPS and ROE. In light of these contradicting findings, the paper endeavoured to analyse the results of JSE-listed gold mining companies. The share price was correlated to EVA, ROE, EPS, CFG and gold price. Using simple and multiple regression analyses, the paper established the strength of correlation between these different performance drivers with the share price. It also established the impact of gold price on the correlation to share price. The results suggested that EVA had the strongest correlation with the share price, with a coefficient of determination r2 = 45%. It was followed by EPS which had a positive correlation, CFG and ROE. Results also revealed that the gold price had a positive and moderate influence on the share price. Not only that the gold price affected the share price moderately, the study found that it also affected the correlation between EVA, ROE, EPS, and CFG with the share price. The impact increased in magnitude from CFG, EVA, and ROE to EPS. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

The global mining industry has been experiencing an unprecedented period of change, driven by merger and acquisition activities which ran at record highs at all levels of the sector (Goldsmith, 2008). Metals became the new green on Wall Street, as mining displaced financial services to become the biggest source of mergers and acquisitions (Bloomberg, 12 June 2008). This was driven mainly by growing commodity demand from Asia which led to record commodity prices. Mining companies therefore positioned themselves to gain bigger economies of scale and diversification. The enactment of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development (MPRDA) Act, No. 28 of 2002, in South Africa also contributed to this trend. Mining mergers and acquisitions in South Africa have increased considerably, with all-time-high annual total deal values of about US$5.3 billion and US$5.7 billion in 2003 and 2006 respectively, according to deal information obtained from Dealogic. Despite this growing trend, various studies conducted indicate mixed outcomes as to whether mergers and acquisitions do create value. The bases for assessing value creation in mergers and acquisitions, however, often tend to differ and therefore require a comprehensive and holistic approach. This dissertation examines some of the key indicators that can be used to assess value creation in mergers and acquisitions holistically and comprehensively. Subsequently, a suitable and comprehensive value assessment model is developed and applied to some of the key mergers and acquisitions that occurred in the South African mining industry between 2003 and 2008. / Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Mining Engineering / unrestricted

This study defines the need and practicality of measuring and determining the metrics and success indicators for an international commodity marketing office for a bulk material resource mining corporation and more particularly for the recently established international marketing office of the specific corporate. The methodology of the study offers the industry a comprehensive investigative process to prove the viability of various quantifiable and qualifiable metrics and success indicators as well as value proposition potentials for an international commodity marketing office were found. The expected and high priority functions of the international marketing office were Customer relationship management and Competitive & Market intelligence The measurement criteria are collated within 4 main groupings namely General, Products, Markets and Financial. The specificity of the monitoring points and the fact that they are derived from non-financial and non marketing bases proves that their determination and measurement is viable and will further increase the potential value added by a coal commodity marketing office. Based on similarities between coal commodity market drivers and drawing this relation back through the generality of the bulk commodity marketing concepts and processes, the same benefits and or metrics may also be true for all commodities and their relevant marketing offices.

Research report presented to SBL, Unisa, Midrand. / This thesis addresses the transformational barriers against women’s advancement in South African Platinum mining companies. The four key objectives of the study were derived to answer the research questions, that is: if South African Platinum mining companies recognize such advancement as a business imperative, if women can advance in such companies, if women need support to advance in these companies and lastly if the leadership of the said companies is embracing women’s advancement and talent. A literature review on the knowledge base of transformation was conducted to determine global, South African, industry and sector perspectives on the issues of the study and to contextualise the latter. The central research tool utilised was a questionnaire using a Likert-5 type rating scale and open-ended questions to elaborate on the objectives. Employees, on C3 level and higher in terms of the Patterson Grading System as traditionally used in the given industry, hailing from various companies of this kind were selected to respond to the questionnaire which was mailed to them. Open-ended questions were used in the development of themes and the data was analysed on the basis of tables and graphs. The findings were that transformational barriers against women’s advancement in these mines are rife. Most women were not afforded opportunities to grow, and were not given sufficient support. The study also found that leadership focuses more on economic benefits in terms of the bottom-line exclusively to human capital interventions, thus failing to strike the balance. The study concluded with recommendations as to what can be done to improve the situation with which women in these firms are faced.

This research is addressing the causes and effects of project delays in the coal mining industry in South Africa. A literature review was conducted and it was found that the causes of delays are extensively researched in the construction industry with only limited reference to delays in the mining industry which are mainly risk based. The effects of delays are predominantly listed as timing and cost effects.