Mining group BHP Billiton was on Friday still considering the contents of a South Gauteng High Court ruling, which ordered that State-owned power utility Eskom should release information and records relating to electricity sales contracts with BHP Billiton’s Hillside and Mozal aluminium smelters, in South Africa and Mozambique respectively.

Eskom spokesperson Hilary Joffe confirmed with Engineering News Online that the utility had no intention to appeal the judgement made by Judge Frans Kgomo on August 5.

Business journalist Jan de Lange and his employer Media 24 brought the application before the court in terms of South Africa’s Promotion of Access to Information Act.

The matter arose after Eskom refused to furnish De Lange with information regarding its commodity-linked sales agreement, which offered BHP Billiton favourable pricing terms. He formally requested the information on September 18, 2009.

De Lange had sought documents outlining the pricing formula for the two smelters, the identities of all signatories to the deals and clarity regarding commencement and termination dates.

Eskom refuse to release the information on the basis that the documents contained confidential commercial and financial information, the publication of which could harm both Eskom and BHP Billiton. Further, BHP Billiton argued that such information would place it at a disadvantage in its contractual negotiations in Mozambique and South Africa.

But Kgomo set aside Eskom’s refusal to grant the information, with costs.

BHP Billiton’s Johnny Dladla told Engineering News Online that the group was still “considering” the ruling and had not yet determined whether or not it might appeal the judgment.

“We obviously respect the law of the countries within which we operate, but we also have an obligation to protect the interests of our employees, our customers and our shareholders. So we will be carefully considering the court’s ruling with a view to determining whether there are grounds for an appeal,” Dladla explained.

The mining group would not be drawn on how long it might take to reach a conclusion.

Should BHP Billiton decide to appeal, Eskom would not release the information until the appeal was finalised.

Subsequent to the application, Eskom and BHP Billiton had finalised a new deal for the Mozal aluminium smelter, in Mozambique, as well as for the Skorpion zinc smelter, in Namibia.

Both deals decoupled the contract from the price of the commodity, as this association had led to financial statement volatility for Eskom, which was required to report mark-to-market adjustments on the value of its embedded derivative.

Negotiations regarding the sales contract to the Hillside and Bayside smelters in Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, were continuing.

BHP Billiton’s Southern African smelters consume about 5% of South Africa's 40 000-MW capacity, with Mozal's maximum demand of 950 MW, while the maximum demand from the South African smelters is 1 300 MW.