Johannesburg - Patrice Motsepe's headache from the Modikwa platinum mine is not just about strikes and a community crying foul over alleged water poisoning, noise pollution and lack of recognition.
It seems he has lost R500 million on the deal, too.
The mining billionaire said on Friday: "We lost R500 million there; speak to André."
André Wilkens is the chief executive of ARM Platinum and Motsepe's right-hand man from his ARMgold days.
Following up on what appeared to be a handsome windfall for Motsepe on Modikwa in the Avmin merger, Wilkens painted a picture showing Motsepe rolling in anything but lolly.
Announced in late 2001, the Modikwa platinum mine in Limpopo was a 50:50 joint venture between the African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) Mining Consortium and top platinum producer Anglo American Platinum (Angloplat).
The ARM consortium is made up of ARM Platinum, which holds 83 percent of the entity, and two section 21 companies comprising Maandagshoek community members, who hold the remaining 17 percent between them.
Four years down the line, however, the community shareholding is still theoretical as the shareholders' agreement has not yet been signed.
Arne Lewis, the operations executive at ARM Platinum, said in June that an agreement would be signed by the end of the month. Three months later he still believes an agreement is imminent.
This shareholders' agreement is one of the concerns of Richard Spoor, a human rights lawyer representing the Banareng tribal authority and the Sehlaku village, who allege their rights have been abused and who hold the vaunted empowerment benefits to the community "in utter contempt".
Wilkens said it took two years to put together the agreement between the ARM consortium and Angloplat.
And without an agreement, the project could not secure bank financing. When ARMgold listed, Motsepe sold R300 million worth of his shares to improve liquidity in the stock and to get the Modikwa project started.
When the time came to go to the banks, Wilkens said, Motsepe stumped up another R200 million of his money.
"Every time he paid money, 17 percent of it was for the community; that's about R85 million he paid on behalf of the consortium," he said. "I can't wait to go to court with Spoor, this is how we will build our case.
"The current mine plan doesn't give that back; it also doesn't pay back the loans."
However, Wilkens said, "it may not always be like that, but that is why Patrice says his money is at risk. He may never recover it."
The parent company, ARM, has also had to fork out R230 million in interest payments on the loans and it has not yet started paying off the capital.
On top of this the concentrator plant cost R200 million more than planned and the ore body has unexpected geological complexities, slowing the ramp-up to full production.
Asked why ARM had ever got involved in Modikwa, Wilkens frankly said: "We didn't know it at the time. If we had known this was the reality, we would never have done ."
Lewis said there had been shortfalls in cash at the mine ever since the deal was done. He said the information was sensitive and he did not want to publicise the amounts that ARM had had to pump in every month.
But Wilkens said the mine was burning about R20 million a month. And there was still about R600 million that would have to be paid in interest.
Lewis said that every six months "there is an interest payment that has to be made. We have never gone to the community and said 'there is a shortfall you must put money in'."
But Spoor said it sounded like all the community had been given was the responsibility for a lot of debt.
"The people of Maandagshoek farm are worse off than they were before the mine was built."
He said the money spent on corporate social investment had been "money to the community to power brokers to get approval. They have been co-opted."
ARM Platinum said it had spent close to R10 million on corporate social investment, but Spoor said there was "no way that kind of money has gone back into the community.
For all I know they have included their training budget in that."
Spoor was scathing about Motsepe's dealings with the community.
"He uses the fact that he is black to turn the screws on the community ... Of course they said 'please come and develop here, please give us jobs', but not like this," Spoor said.
The matter between the two was scheduled to be heard on Tuesday, but ARM asked for more time. Spoor said he was expecting ARM's answering papers to be filed on Wednesday.