Dasa,Nice thought, but IMO, the probability of that happening...

Dasa,
Nice thought, but IMO, the probability of that happening would be very close to zero.

BHP is already mining O Dam, and they will continue to mine it for more than 100 years. The extension requested is to the development of the open cut. If the open cut does not go ahead, mining by BHP would still continue. there is no legal or moral reason for the SA govt to give the mining lease to anyone else. In fact, if the mining lease was transferred, the view of sovereign risk would be much greater and make SA like some African nations where mining leases are moved to companies as "gifts". This would not be a good look for SA.

HT1