Johannesburg - Petrochemical giant Sasol
[JSE:SOL] said on Thursday it has sold a 20% stake in its coal mining unit to firms controlled by black women in a $269m deal.
WIPCoal Investments bought the 20% in Sasol Mining through a new share issue, the company said in a statement.
The deal will create a new firm called Ixia Coal, with Sasol holding a 49% stake.
The rest of Ixia will be held by firms representing black women, including a firm called Mining Women Investments, comprising 5 000 black women living in rural areas or on the fringes of cities where Sasol operates.
The women will receive dividends from the new company, which will eventually start its own mining operations, Sasol said.
The mining industry, the economy's largest export earner which brought in 43 billion dollars last year, has come under increasing political pressure to diversify its ownership.
The government warned last month that mining firms could lose their licenses if they fail to meet targets for black ownership in the industry.