JOHANNESBURG - Anglo American Platinum said on Thursday its wholly-owned subsidiary Rustenburg Platinum had accepted an offer from Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBPlat) to purchase its 33 percent stake in the Bafokeng Rasimone Platinum Mine joint venture (BRPM JV) for R1.863 billion.
"The transaction allows RBPlat to increase its attributable resource and reserve base in BRPM and furthers empowerment in the PGM (platinum group metals) industry with RBPlat fully owning and operating low cost, high quality assets with attractive growth optionality at Styldrift," Amplats CEO Chris Griffith said.
"The disposal of interest in the BRPM JV will allow Anglo American Platinum to focus its capital allocation into its own-managed mines and projects.”
Amplats said exiting the BRPM JV allowed it to focus its capital into its own-managed mines and projects rather than into non-managed operations where it held minority interests.
The company will retain its right to process 50 percent of the BRPM JV concentrate for the life of mine, and RBPlat will retain its termination right on the remaining 50 percent of BRPM JV concentrate every five years, with the earliest termination being in August 2022.
It said it would use the proceeds from the deal for capital at its own-managed mines and projects.
The transaction remains subject to RBPlat shareholder and lenders approval by no later than December 31, and its effective date is expected to be in the third quarter of this year.