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WESCOAL HOLDINGS LIMITED - Appointment of chief executive officer and reconstitution of the board

Release Date: 22/02/2019 10:00
Code(s): WSL     PDF:  
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Appointment of chief executive officer and reconstitution of the board

WESCOAL HOLDINGS LIMITED
Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa
(Registration number 2005/006913/06)
Share code: WSL
ISIN: ZAE000069639
(“Wescoal” or the “Company” or the “Group”)

APPOINTMENT OF CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER AND RECONSTITUTION OF THE BOARD

1.    Introduction

In compliance with paragraph 3.59 of the Listings Requirements of the JSE Limited, shareholders are
advised of changes to the Wescoal board of directors (the “Board”).

A recent update to shareholders by Chairman Muthanyi Robinson Ramaite touched on the Board’s
revitalisation project in anticipation of an imminent announcement. The appointment of Dr HLM
Mathe to the role of Acting CEO, for the period 01 February 2019 to 30 April2019, has spearheaded a
strong plan, focusing on operational efficiencies, integration and leadership renewal.

2.    Appointments and Board reconstitution

In light of the above, the Board is hereby pleased to announce the following:

2.1   Appointment of Chief Executive Officer

The appointment of Reginald Lavhelesani Demana, a mining and resources specialist, as the Group
CEO, effective 01 April 2019. Demana has over 20 years’ working experience, with the latter 14 years
at the forefront of investment banking at Nedbank Limited, focussing on mining advisory. During this
time, he has played a leading role in numerous major transformational transactions in the sector.
Demana’s scale of expertise is significant in M&A activity, BEE structuring, capital raising, IPOs and
general strategic corporate finance. He has consulted on landmark transactions in the mining and
resources sector, spanning various commodities including coal, PGMs and gold.

Demana has over the past five years acted as a lead corporate advisor to Wescoal, giving him a keen
insight into the Company and its operations. Some of the notable transactions he has advised Wescoal
on include the acquisition of Keaton Energy Holdings Limited (“Keaton”), a BEE transaction which saw
Wescoal becoming majority black-owned and various capital raising transactions. Recently he has also
been involved in Wescoal’s participation, along with Ata Resources Coal Investments, in the proposed
acquisition by the consortium of the entire issued share capital of Universal Coal Plc, as well as various
other significant transactions presently under consideration.

Prior to joining Nedbank, he worked at BJM Securities as a commodities analyst, and was involved in
academia at the University of Venda and the University of Johannesburg (formerly Wits Technikon).
He started out his professional working career as a mining engineering trainee with Anglo American
Platinum Limited and then as a mine health and safety inspector with the Department of Mineral
Resources (formerly Department of Minerals and Energy).

Demana holds a BSc. in Mining Engineering from Wits University and a MSc. in Mining Engineering
(with distinction) from Exeter University in the United Kingdom.

The Board believes that, given his background and lead advisor role to Wescoal over the years,
Demana will transition into the role of Group CEO quickly and that he will continue to implement the
Company’s growth strategy currently in place.

As part of the transition, Dr Mathe will hand over executive responsibilities during the month of
April 2019, and thereafter continue to work closely with Demana and executive management until
30 June 2019 in order to assist with the finalisation of the integration of all the Group’s businesses
into an efficient operating structure.

2.2   Appointment of new independent non-executive directors

Shareholders are also advised that Ms Zukie Siyotula and Dr Martin van Wijngaarden have been
appointed as independent non-executive directors with effect from 14 February 2019. The
appointments are in line with the Board’s commitment to revitalise, bolster and renew the skills set
and capacity for oversight, independence and leadership which the Board provides to the
organisation.

Siyotula holds a CA (SA), ACMA, MBA and Executive Programmes from Harvard, Insead and Oxford.
She currently serves as a non-executive director on the boards of Growthpoint Properties, Ogilvy
South Africa, Toyota Finance, Denel, African Phoenix Investments and Stangen Insurance. Siyotula is
the former CEO of Thebe Capital and is well-recognised in industry as a result of various South African
and Africa-coveted business awards. She lists sound business practices, corporate governance,
strategy and business development through sales and distribution as key areas of focus in her
approach.

Dr van Wijngaarden holds a doctorate in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Pretoria and
has completed numerous management and executive programmes locally and abroad, including at
the Darden Business School of the University of Virginia. Dr van Wijngaarden has had extensive
exposure to the international investment community and financial institutions. He has served as Non-
Executive Chairman of the United Kingdom registered Baobab Resources Limited, and executive
director, COO and Deputy CE at Arcelor Mittal South Africa Limited. He was the IDC-appointed
Chairman of Duferco Steel Processing Proprietary Limited, a joint venture company between the IDC
and Swiss-based Duferco Group. Outside of his corporate involvements, Dr van Wijngaarden manages
a number of private investments in South Africa, covering private equity, financial services,
manufacturing and mining. He serves on the Advisory Committee of the Faculty of Engineering of the
University of Pretoria as well as on the Advisory Committee of the Ashburton (RMB) Private Equity
Fund.

2.3   Election of new Chairman

The Board has elected Dr HLM Mathe as the incoming Chairman of the Wescoal Board, effective
01 July 2019, in order to rotate the Chairmanship. The current Chairman, Mr Muthanyi Robinson
Ramaite, will step down but will continue to serve on the Board as a non-executive director. He has
served in the role of Chairman for just over 10 years, and during his tenure initiated a complete
transformation of the Group.

Dr Mathe, a doyen in the mining industry with 37 years’ experience, will become Chairman after his
deployment as Acting CEO. He has been an independent non-executive director of the Board and
Chairperson of the Social and Ethics Committee for the past four years.

3.    Commitment of the controlling shareholder to the Group

In implementing its growth strategy and ensuring Wescoal’s commitment to remain a black-controlled
mining champion, the Board wishes to communicate the intention of its major shareholder,
K2016316243 (South Africa) (RF) Proprietary Limited (“BEE SPV”), to remain invested in Wescoal as its
anchor shareholder and to support the various growth initiatives underway at the Company. The
shareholders in BEE SPV significantly increased their interest in Wescoal prior to the Company’s
acquisition of Keaton and have reaffirmed their trust in the Board to drive Wescoal’s growth further.

4.    Conclusion

The Board believes that the above appointments and reconstitution of the Board, together with the
continued support and commitment of BEE SPV, will revitalise the Company as it enters its next phase
of growth in pursuit of the creation of value for the Company’s shareholders.

For any enquiries related to the content of this announcement please contact:

Dr Humphrey Mathe, Acting CEO
Tel: +27110498611
Email: humphrey@wescoal.com

Jacques De Bie, Singular Systems
Tel: +27826915384
Email: jdebie@singular.co.za

22 February 2019

Sponsor
Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking, a division of Nedbank Limited

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