- Tsaone Segaetsho
The BCL Mine Hospital is finally in the hands of medical and health practitioners, following a purchase agreement made last year for the mine’s most valuable non-mining asset.
After weeks of assessment and subsequent adjudication last month by the Competition and Consumer Authority (CCA), the antitrust body’s Chief Executive Officer, Tebelelo Pule, announced this week that two leaders in the health sector and a medical aid provider can safely take ownership of the BCL Mine Hospital.
Diagno Firm, a medical laboratory services provider, Agile Holdings, a hospital management company, and BPOMAS Property Holdings, a real estate investment company owned by a medical aid provider, have joined forces to take over the Selebi-Phikwe-based mine hospital.
The parties involved in the much-anticipated takeover are interconnected within the medical and healthcare value chain and have demonstrated their capacity, capital, and resources to manage the BCL Mine Hospital, which was at risk of becoming a white elephant as the mine is currently undergoing liquidation, with most suitors only targeting its mining assets.
In November last year, the Minister of Mines, Lefoko Moagi, revealed that the mine hospital is valued at P30.9 million and would be purchased this year.
The mine has served the vital healthcare needs of BCL employees and the local community.
According to the CCA’s decision, released on Monday, the proposed transaction follows an Asset Purchase Agreement signed on 07 July 2023. The transaction was notified to the Authority on 05 March 2024, and the merger assessment was completed on 24 May 2024.
The CCA’s merger decision revealed that prior to liquidation, BCL operated the BCL Mine (now in care and maintenance), which produced nickel, cobalt, and copper. BCL was also responsible for operating the BCL Hospital, which primarily provided healthcare services to BCL employees and the local community.
