Cape Town - Northam Platinum said on Tuesday it had agreed to buy a portion of a mining right from Anglo American Platinum that would allow it to extend the life of the Zondereinde mine beyond 30 years.
Northam said it was acquiring a portion of the Amandelbult mining right that is contiguous with the north western boundary of its Zondereinde mine and adjacent property for R1 billion in cash in addition to a portion of the Zondereinde mining right.
Northam said the resource it was selling had never been mined.
It was above the minimum depth required for effective use of hydro-powered mining equipment and did not form part of the Zondereinde life of mine plan.
In a separate statement, Amplats said the transaction would not constrain next generation options for the Amandelbult mine, which had a number of shallow and less capital intensive life extension options.
It said: “The ancillary mineral resource on the north-west corner of the Zondereinde mining right gives Anglo Plats flexibility for the placement of future mining infrastructure, including options for next generation replacement or expansion plans at Amandelbult.”
Paul Dunne, Northam's chief executive, said Northam was confident that the transaction would add sustainable shareholder value by unlocking a large resource in a capital efficient manner.
“The transaction positions Zondereinde on a similar long-term footing as our Booysendal operation,” Dunne said.
Chris Griffith, Anglo Plats chief executive, said: “The transaction is mutually beneficial and allows us to exit resources for value which are outside of our life-of-mine plans and do not impact current mining or the future potential of Amandelbult.”
He said the proceeds of the transaction, which was subject to the regulatory approval, would be used to further reduce net debt and strengthen the balance sheet.
AFRICAN NEWS AGENCY