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Cape Town - Lonmin Platinum [JSE:LON] denied on Friday that equity negotiations with the Bapo ba Mogale royal family had broken down.
The platinum producer said neither party had taken a final decision on the deal, which would see the Bapo ba Mogale community swap its annual mining royalties for an equity stake in Lonmin.
The deal would give the community a larger stake in Lonmin's operations in Marikana, near Rustenburg in North West.
"With reference to an article which appeared in the Business Day today [Friday], no decision has yet been made by Lonmin Plc nor the Bapo ba Mogale community regarding this transaction," the company said in a statement.
"Negotiations are ongoing and we are hopeful that the community will indeed take up this opportunity."
Lonmin said an equity swap would enable it to achieve its target of 26 percent black economic empowerment ownership by the end of the year.
"Lonmin is exploring various options to achieve this target and we are considering each proposal on its merits.
"[We] will, as previously announced, work to implement a proposal that is fair and equitable to all shareholders but which allows us to meet our targets."
