Implats mines Mimosa in joint venture with Sibanye-Stillwater, the Johannesburg-listed gold and PGM producer. According to Implats spokesman, Johan Theron, Mimosa’s ground closest to its infrastructure is almost mined out.
“Mimosa has advanced work to potentially access some neighbouring areas across the mine boundary,” Theron told Bloomberg. “The most obvious way to do this would be to agree a royalty payment with the neighbouring permit holder,” he said.
Said Colin Chibafa, Unki’s CFO: “We are considering various options with regards to the mining of these claims. A decision in this regard is expected soon”. Mimosa MD, Fungai Makoni also confirmed discussions were underway but declined to give details.
Implats and Sibanye were working on a feasibility study at Mimosa to assess the best way to develop the remaining resource, said Bloomberg citing GM, Alex Mushonhiwa.
Sibanye-Stillwater has long built a reputation for expansion through acquisition, but Implats until recently trod a more conservative line because its balance sheet was heavily constrained by major projects at its Rustenburg operations.
However, the improvement in the rand basket price of PGMs has liberated the balance sheet. Implats has heavily cut debt – it moved into net cash of R1.1bn as of June 30 – and on October 7 announced it would buy North American Palladium for $758m. The proposed transaction may herald a more expansionist approach by Implats.
