State-owned Eskom is buying coal for its Arnot power plant from a mine that’s being bought by a company controlled by the Gupta family, friends of President Jacob Zuma, after a contract with Exxaro Resources was cancelled, according to three people with knowledge of the situation.

Eskom didn’t renew Exxaro’s contract to supply Arnot from a nearby mine at the end of December, because it said prices were too high. Arnot was supplying 20% of the 2 000 megawatt power plant’s coal needs, according to the utility.

Optimum Coal, the mine now supplying Arnot, is being acquired by a company controlled by the Guptas. The previous owner, Glencore Plc, placed it under administration because it was running at a loss and Eskom would not relax the terms of a supply contract to the Hendrina power plant.

Tegeta, which is buying Optimum, is owned by the Gupta family’s Oakbay Investments, which controls the publicly traded Oakbay Resources & Energy.

The sources asked not to be identified because they aren’t authorised to speak to the press. Tegeta official Jacques Roux didn’t answer calls to his mobile phone. Eskom spokesperson Khulu Phasiwe said Arnot has been sourcing coal from other suppliers since the Exxaro contract expired, but said he had “no information” on the arrangement with Optimum.

Optimum has been supplying coal to Arnot since the beginning of the year, said the people. Optimum is selling 100 000 tonnes of coal a month to Oakbay, one of the people said.

Exxaro has stopped operating since the end of the year and about 1 700 workers risk losing their jobs, according to the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). The company hasn’t received offers for its Arnot mine, and is in discussions with unions over jobs, Mzila Mthenjane, Exxaro’s head of stakeholder engagement, said by phone.

Mining Minister Mosebenzi Zwane and a Tegeta delegation met with Glencore officials in Switzerland to negotiate the purchase of Optimum, the Financial Mail magazine reported Wednesday, citing a spokesperson it didn’t identify.

“Let me assure you that I’m not involved in transactions of anybody so far,” Zwane told reporters in Pretoria on Thursday. A Glencore spokesperson declined to comment.

Zwane, a newcomer to national politics, was appointed in September from a provincial government position. Articles in the Mail & Guardian and Business Day newspapers said he was close to the Guptas. He has not commented on those allegations.

Tegeta agreed to pay about R2.15bn ($132m) for Optimum, which has a fixed-price agreement to supply Hendrina with 5.5 million tonnes of coal annually running until 2018. The payment will cover most of Optimum’s R2.55bn in debt, including an Eskom fine.

The Gupta’s have employed members of Zuma’s family and do business with his son Duduzane, with him sitting on the boards of companies together with at least one or all of the three brothers who head the family. The arrangement has attracted the criticism of opposition parties and labour union leaders.NEWS24