Anglo American Platinum (AAP) has wrapped up the sale of its 50% interest in Kroondal and Marikana platinum group metal (PGM) mines in South Africa to Sibanye-Stillwater.
Sibanye-Stillwater already held a 50% stake in both South African PGM mines through the pool-and-share agreements (PSAs) with Anglo American Platinum.
The transaction is executed by meeting all conditions precedent including the receipt of approval from the competition commission and section 11 consent terms of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002, said Sibanye-Stillwater.
Both parties, subject to several revised conditions, have also agreed to waive the last condition precedent for the delivery of the 1.35 million platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold (4E) ounces by the Kroondal operation to Anglo American Platinum’s subsidiary Rustenburg Platinum Mines (RPM).
Anglo American Platinum CEO Craig Miller said: “The sale of our interest in Kroondal to Sibanye-Stillwater represents a positive step towards simplifying Anglo American Platinum’s portfolio.”
According to the terms of the sale agreements signed by the companies in early 2022, Kroondal’s infrastructure has been used to mine through the boundary into Sibanye-Stillwater’s adjacent Rustenburg operations resource for the benefit of the PSA parties.
Kroondal is a shallow underground PGM mine with two concentrators situated on the Western Limb of the Bushveld Complex.
Located in the Marikana district, 40km to the east of the town of Rustenburg in the North West province of South Africa, Marikana is a large, established shallow to moderate depth PGM mining complex.
It currently has six operating shafts, namely 4 Belt (4B), K3, K4, Rowland, Saffy, and E3.
Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman said: “Concluding the transaction earlier enables effective consolidation of these operations under a single owner. By extending the operating life of the Kroondal operation, which as a standalone operation was constrained by the existing PSA agreement.
“We are now able to realise the true potential of our adjacent resources by utilising the mechanised and low-cost Kroondal operation to mine across the boundary with the Rustenburg operation.”
