ANA writes that Black Mountain Mining on Friday announced the establishment of a seven-year employee share ownership (ESOP) plan, the terms of which have been reached through consultation with the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM).  

Black Mountain is an underground operation in Northern Cape with a permanent workforce of 1,600 (800 direct and 800 contractors) that mines zinc, lead, silver and copper deposit.  The ESOP plan will be overseen by a trust, known as the Voorspoed Trust, comprising three union-appointed trustees, one Black Mountain representative trustee and an independent trustee.  Six percent of Black Mountain shares were issued to the trust on 1 April, half of which were acquired by the trust through a contribution from the company and at no cost to employees.  The other half were funded through a notional loan provided by the company.  An annual guaranteed dividend payment of R3,500 net of tax would be made to the beneficiaries of the trust for the duration of the plan.  NUM branch chairperson at Black Mountain, Darryl Crew, described the plan as “a positive step”.

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