Playwright George Bernard Shaw once declared that "God is on the side of the big battalions". Avmin CEO Rick Menell would probably agree.
This year he and his family finally sold control of Avmin to Anglo American, despite the strenuous efforts made over the past three years to avoid such a fate.
The beginning of the end for Avmin came in March when Anglo bought 34,9% of the company from Arctic Resources. It is likely now that Avmin will eventually either be swallowed whole or broken up.
Arctic Resources was an offshore control vehicle holding 43% of Avmin. It was set up by the Menells with various backers to guarantee Menell family control of the group . Arctic ensured Avmin remained under Menell family control through a restrictive voting mechanism, even though the Menells were minority shareholders in the group.
Investors didn't like that. It was viewed it as a step backwards in the evolution of the group, which had emerged from family control only a few years previously.
Rick Menell was made rudely aware of the perils of his new situation when diamond giant De Beers, eyeing the Venetia mine, bought a 22% stake in Avmin in May 1999.
Getting the De Beers monkey off his back ultimately meant Menell had to sell Avmin's diamond interests to De Beers in return for an undertaking by De Beers to dispose of its Avmin shares into neutral hands.
Justifying the return to family control , Menell said at the time: "We do not believe our projects would be pursued as aggressively by another purchaser who might buy in for specific assets and then dismember the group."
But, in March this year, he said the decision to sell out to Anglo was "of significant benefit to all Avmin's stakeholders, as it now introduces an open and flexible structure to facilitate organic and corporate growth, thereby further unlocking value and broadening investor participation . . . Avmin now faces new challenges and opportunities which are best achieved by the introduction of a strategic industry partner."
Avmin is by no means "open and flexible" - it is now an annexe to 44 Main Street. Menell remains in place as CEO as long as Anglo feels it needs him there.
The need for a "strategic industry partner" - read, one with deep pockets - is probably the real reason the Menells sold out, because Avmin's projects require funding in excess of the group's own resources.
Anglo American has deep pockets and the deal, when taken with its simultaneous acquisition of a 20% stake in Kumba Resources, is the start of diversification into the iron ore business.
Through its subsidiary Associated Manganese, Avmin exports 5 Mt of iron ore annually from the Northern Cape and Kumba exports 21 Mt/year from its Sishen mine in the same region.
Both Avmin and Kumba want to increase their iron ore business. Avmin's plans are to double its exports; Kumba wants to push exports to 56 Mt/year through expansions at and around Sishen, as well as the development of a new iron ore mine at Hope Downs in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
In 2000, Anglo tried to buy control of Australian iron ore producer North but was outbid by Rio Tinto . By taking stakes in Avmin and Kumba, Anglo also establishes a beachhead Down Under.
It's the first decent bit of news concerning Anglo's troubled base-metals division in a long time. Last year division head James Campbell left, apparently as the result of differences with Anglo CEO Tony Trahar.
Like rival BHP Billiton, Anglo coped with the turbulent economic conditions of the past 12 months and both shares have shone on the JSE. What helped both groups was their coal divisions, where earnings boomed, offsetting sharp falls in revenues from other commodities .
BHP Billiton, with CEO-elect Brian Gilbertson taking over, is ploughing capital into new projects and has invested US1,8bn since June, of which nearly half is going into southern Africa.
The expansion of the Mozal aluminium smelter in Maputo was announced last year and in February the group confirmed it was going ahead with the expansion of the Hillside smelter complex in Richards Bay .
But the global expansion of the former SA-based mining houses meant more jobs were lost. Anglo slashed Johannesburg head-office numbers last year and BHP Billiton has so far retrenched 700 workers worldwide .
After years of delay there was finally some developments on the long-promised restructuring of the Kebble mining group. Consolidated African Mines will form the top of the Kebble group and is to take over JCI Gold.
Randgold has been excluded from the merger so far and will be kept independent from the Kebble group .