THE four-year ownership saga surrounding the beleaguered Rosh Pinah zinc mine will end on Thursday with the official launch of a new holding company for the mine. Today’s launch will also pave the way for the listing of the new company on the Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) before the end of the year. Rosh Pinah became the centre of controversy in 1995 after the mine’s holding company in South Africa, Imcor Tin, went into liquidation. This resulted in prolonged negotiations between Iscor, the owners of Rosh Pinah, and holders of the mine’s mineral rights, a consortium of Namibian and Malaysian business interests operating under the name PE Minerals. The negotiations resulted in a deal being struck on December 1 1998, which gave Iscor and PE Minerals a 50-50 shareholding in the new company. The deal also gave Iscor the responsibility for the day-to-day operation of the mine while PE Minerals would oversee the mine’s management. Rosh Pinah, previously run from Iscor headquarters in Pretoria, South Africa, will now be run from Windhoek.