Ltd (“Akanani”) for approximately R800 million from the current BEE consortium of Akanani, making Incwala joint owners and operators of Akanani with Lonmin Plc.
In February 2007 Lonmin Plc acquired all the shares in Toronto listed AfriOre in order to gain control of the 74% of Akanani not purchased by Incwala. All regulatory approvals for the transaction have been obtained. Funding has been arranged against Incwala’s own balance sheet.
Akanani holds new order prospecting rights in terms of the Mineral Resources and Petroleum Development Act (MRPDA) to prospect for minerals including Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) on two farms, Moordkopje 813 LR and Zwartfontein 814 LR that together cover 4 095ha (the Akanani Project). The Akanani Project is located in the northern limb of the Bushveld Igneous Complex, 25km north of the town Mokopane in Limpopo Province. It is adjacent to Potgietersrust Platinum Mines (PPRust), an open pit operation belonging to Anglo Platinum Ltd.
Akanani has the potential to develop into an exceptional PGM ore body with Lonmin indicating at their interim results on 4 May 2007 that they believed Akanani could be developed into a low cost mechanised mine with initial production from 2013 onwards. Current resources at Akanani are estimated at 32million ounces of PGMs, with deposits in excess of 20m thick across most of the width of the property and significant exploration upside. Incwala’s attributable share of current resources is in excess of 8million ounces. A drilling programme is ongoing in both the northern portion as well as the south of the properties to continue to develop the resource base.
At Lonmin’s interim results presentation in May 2007, Lonmin CEO, Brad Mills, indicated that the final size of the mine was still to be established and production options ranging from 400thousand tonnes per month to 1million tonnes per month are being considered for the initial project.
Incwala CEO, Zanele Mavuso Mbatha said, “We are pleased to have found a promising opportunity to add significant value for our shareholders. This should be the first of many targeted acquisitions as we progress towards becoming a fully-fledged operating company and we look forward to operating Akanani with Lonmin.”
“While our focus remains on Platinum Group Metals, Incwala will be opportunistic outside the sector where opportunities present themselves. We will be looking at acquiring operating mining assets to complement our activities. To accelerate this process, we are looking to make appointments at a number of levels, particularly in the technical and financial fields.” |
