  | |
| |
 |
|
| ||
Pan Palladium rejects Braemore deal Posted: Wed, 30 Jul 2008 [miningmx.com] -- MARKET sources believe a power play involving billionaire Canadian mining entrepreneur Robert Friedland may lie behind the voting down of PPD’s JV with Braemore Resources over the Grass Valley platinum project. Grass Valley is located on the Platreef which is the northern limb of the Bushveld Complex extending north from the town of Mokopane (formerly Potgietersrus). The Platreef has low platinum group metals (pgm) grades but contains substantial amounts of base metals. Much of it can be mined using open cast methods as is being done by Anglo Platinum at its Potgietersrust Platinum operation. Market sources are also viewing with interest the appointment of Roy Pitchford as chairman of PPD to replace Barry Aitken with effect from July 30 – the day on which the PPD shareholders meeting was held. Pitchford is currently non-executive chairman of unlisted Lesego Platinum which has just postponed its proposed listing on the JSE because it was unable to raise the R315m it was looking for to take its project to bankable feasibility study. Friedland owns an unlisted nickel/copper/pgm project called Ivanhoe Platinum which is situated on the Platreef some 20kms north of PPD’s Grass Valley project. Question raised by one source is whether there is a game plan to combine Ivanhoe Platinum with Lesego and take them public through PPD’s existing listing on the Australian Stock Exchange. He commented; “something must have changed radically and very recently for this deal to be voted down because it is highly embarrassing for Pan Palladium’s management and board. “You do not put a deal like this to a vote by shareholders unless you are sure it is going to be approved. Management would certainly have run the proposal past a 20% shareholder like Friedland to ensure he was on board before going ahead with it. “Yet Friedland has now voted it down. You have to wonder why he has done so.” Statement released to the ASX by PPD said two major shareholders had voted against the resolution but the company did not identify them. The source indicated the two shareholders could be pinned down because of the close fit between their shareholdings and the votes cast against the resolution. Some 37,9m shares – equivalent to 28,7% of the equity – were cast in opposition. Friedland owns 19.4% of the company through Cereus Holding. His partner is believed to be Hong Kong businessman Cheung Hin Shun who bought 9,08% of Pan Palladium in May. That put the total equity held between the two at 28.5% . Friedland has remained tight-lipped about his plans for Ivanhoe Platinum for years. He was supposed to present on the operation at the Indaba Mining conference in Cape Town three years ago. When he reached the podium he switched his topic to an overview on China saying that Ivanhoe Platinum was one of his private businesses which he did not wish to discuss. Pitchford said he did not know why the Grass Valley JV had been voted down. Click Here to subscribe to our daily newsletter
| ||||||||
