Share

Amplats gets R4.5bn offer for Bokoni stake

Johannesburg - Anglo American Platinum [JSE:AMS], the world's top platinum miner, has received a R4.5bn offer for its 49% stake in the Bokoni mine, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.

South African platinum mining houses are on a restructuring drive that includes selling off under-performing and labour-intensive shafts following a five-month strike this year that dashed hopes of making them profitable.

Amplats' stake in the Bokoni mine and other shafts around Rustenburg, the epicentre of the strike, has been up for sale as part of its drive to switch to more mechanised mining. Amplats is a unit of global miner Anglo American [JSE:AGL].

Baroka Tribal Mining, a community-owned firm in Limpopo province, will also buy Amplats' 22.5% indirect stake in its joint venture partner, Atlatsa Resources [JSE:ATL], a document seen by Reuters showed.

The rest of Bokoni - a four-shaft mine that produces 170 000 ounces of platinum group metals a year - is owned by the Toronto-based Atlatsa.

The Amplats stake in Atlatsa is worth about $48m, according to Reuters data.

"Baroka will also be taking on R1.7bn in debt that Amplats loaned to Atlatsa as part of the deal," the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters.

Spokespeople for Baroka and Amplats were not immediately available to comment.

A document, dated December 18, seen by Reuters showed that Baroka has the support of the state-owned pension fund, the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), in its bid for the mine.

The source said the PIC was set to fund part of the transaction in exchange for a stake in the mine. Some of the funding would come in the form of a loan from local lender Nedbank [JSE:NED], the source added.

The PIC and Nedbank were not immediately available to comment.
 

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
19.00
-0.3%
Rand - Pound
24.08
+0.1%
Rand - Euro
20.59
-0.0%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.36
+0.5%
Rand - Yen
0.13
+0.7%
Platinum
902.95
+0.1%
Palladium
998.75
-0.7%
Gold
2,152.67
-0.4%
Silver
24.90
-0.6%
Brent Crude
86.89
+1.8%
Top 40
65,873
-0.6%
All Share
72,094
-0.5%
Resource 10
53,208
-0.2%
Industrial 25
99,450
-1.0%
Financial 15
16,627
+0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders