South African mining companies, Gold One and Goliath Gold have conditionally agreed to buy the liquidated Pamodzi Gold Grootvlei assets for R70m ($8 million).

The expected takeover, by both companies headed by Neal Froneman, brings to an end the shameful saga that unfolded when the assets were managed by Aurora Empowerment Systems.

Gold One aims to buy prospecting rights to the ore body extensions of its Modder East gold mine as well as the Grootvlei treatment plant, the 4 Shaft infrastructure and other surface assets for R65m. Goliath, which is an exploration company, will spend R5m ($638,833) buying prospecting rights as well as mining and geological data over the remaining Pamodzi assets on the East Rand, Businessday reports.

Futher reports indicated that neither company intend to resume mining the old Grootvlei mines.  Also, the agreement with the provisional liquidators seeks to distance the two companies as far as possible from environmental and pumping liabilities created by Pamodzi and Aurora.

According to Gold One and Goliath CEO Neal Froneman, “This clean sheet approach considers targeting unmined areas with modern and appropriate infrastructure, without the consequence of historical rehabilitation and underground water legacy issues.”

Gold One shaping for aggressive expansion, with the purchase of the unlisted Rand Uranium and bids for First Uranium’s Ezulwini gold and uranium plant nearby; it has also struck a relationship with Gold Fields to look at jointly processing gold- and uranium-bearing tailings dumps near Carletonville.

Goliath was formed by selling Gold One’s deeper deposits to JSE-listed White Water Resources, creating an exploration company focused on the East Rand.