Gold Fields claims proof that Harmony misrepresented reserves
Publish date: 09 May 2005
Issue Number: 1330
Diary: Legalbrief Today
Category: Competition
Gold Fields has produced what it claims is conclusive proof that Harmony misrepresented its stated gold reserves by about 100% when it first offered to buy its largest rival, according to a Business Day report.
It says this new twist in Harmonys hostile bid to buy Gold Fields came at a Competition Tribunal hearing into the proposed takeover, as Gold Fields was finally able to get access to a long-awaited report on Harmonys gold reserves. The report, compiled by mining consultancy SRK, calculated Harmonys reserves under three different scenarios, one of which excluded all the companys loss making mines and puts Harmonys gold reserves at 33-million ounces at their lowest level. The report says this contrasts with the 62-million ounces of total gold reserves which Harmony estimated it had in its offer document to Gold Fields shareholders in October last year. The Tribunal is expected to decide this week on whether Harmonys takeover bid should be accepted. Full report in Business Day
