NEAL Froneman, CEO of Sibanye-Stillwater said the company was about two months away from “some form of completion” on an offer for Mopani Copper Mines, an asset in Zambia it said in February it was interested in buying.
Speaking at the London Indaba, a conference, Froneman said: Provided it is the right value proposition for our shareholders it will represent a good entry point for us [into copper]. We will see how it ends up, but it’s a good opportunity.”
According to a report by Reuters last week, China’s Zijin Mining, Norinco Group and an investment vehicle owned by ex-Glencore officials along with Sibanye-Stillwater had been shortlisted by the Zambian government for Mopani Copper.
Mopani Copper is held by state-owned firm ZCCM-IH after Glencore sold its 73% stake investment in the company in 2021 for $1.5bn.
Froneman told Reuters that the copper mine, which could potentially produce about 225,000 tons of copper annually, required considerable investment, but that the available deposits made Mopani a good asset to own. “It’s a wonderful orebody, and a good mine starts with a good orebody and good people,” he told the newswire.
Speaking today Froneman likened the firm’s interest in Mopani Copper to its 2019 acquisition of Lonmin. The South African platinum group metals miner had nearly run out of money when Sibanye-Stillwater bought it. It also had significant ESG liabilities.
“I wouldn’t say Mopani is asset that has huge ESG issues but it has significant issues,” said Froneman at the conference. “We have a competitive edge in deep level mining, we can take on the risks, Zambia is good mining destination, and the president is going to all the right places,” he said.
Hakainde Hichilema, Zambia’s president since August 2021, is seeking to attract new investors in Africa‘s second-largest copper producer. He previously said he wanted to triple copper production from the country.
