[miningmx.com] — EXXARO Resources has sold its remaining 50% stake in the Rosh Pinah zinc mine in Namibia to Glencore International for an undisclosed cash amount.
Glencore has also reached agreements with other shareholders in Rosh Pinah to raise its total stake in the mine to 80.1%. The remaining 19.9% interest will be held by PE Minerals, Jaguar Investments Four and the Rosh Pinah employee empowerment participation scheme trust.
Rosh Pinah is an underground situated 800km south of Windhoek. It produced 101,000 tonnes of zinc concentrate and 19,000t of lead concentrate during 2010.
The sale follows Exxaro’s strategic decision taken in 2009 to dispose of its zinc assets consisting of Rosh Pinah and the Zincor refinery in Springs.
Exxaro has been unable to find a buyer for Zincor and decided to close the plant which was finally shut on December 14.
Exxaro CEO, Sipho Nkosi, said: “The decision to dispose of our shareholding in Rosh Pinah and to cease production at Zincor was made in the context of the difficult conditions of the zinc market, including its cyclical nature and low margins as well as the significant impact of the exchange rate and higher electricity prices.’
Exxaro finance director Wim de Klerk said the price to be paid for Rosh Pinah would be announced once the various suspensive conditions attached to the deal had been met.
