Nico Muller
Rainmakers & Potstirrers

Nico Muller

CEO: Impala Platinum

www.implats.co.za

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‘I am convinced that 30 years from now, long-term investors will approve the value from that acquisition’

THE past 12 months have been tough for South Africa’s platinum producers and especially for Muller because of the albatross hanging around Impala Platinum’s (Implats’) neck in the form of Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBPlat). It was not supposed to be like this: Implats went after RBPlat for all the right reasons and fought a bitter battle against Northam Platinum to win ownership. But right now it looks like a pyrrhic victory, with Northam coming out of this struggle in better shape than Implats despite taking a hefty loss on the RBPlat shares it bought at “over-the-top” prices above the Implats offer. 

Essentially, Implats has taken over a loss-making operation just as the platinum group metals (PGM) markets turned down sharply and there is, as yet, no sign of a recovery. Muller was at pains to spell out the long-term benefits for Implats at the 2024 PGMs Industry Day, the annual investment conference. He told delegates: “I am convinced that 30 years from now, long-term investors will approve the value from that acquisition.” 

Elsewhere in the business, Muller has taken a practical approach to Lac des Iles, the group’s Canadian mine bought for R11.9bn in 2019, focusing on cash flows at the expense of mine life. Restructuring has also been undertaken at Two Rivers, a joint venture with African Rainbow Minerals. It was grisly last year: all in all, Implats wrote down assets for R20bn. Muller will be hoping for a better year and that investment analysts are right that the worst is over for platinum shares.

LIFE OF NICO

Muller has cracked it during his time running Implats although you could question how he — and the other platinum CEOs — misread the market so badly and did not foresee the current downturn. He’s a mining engineer who came to prominence while running Gold Fields’ dysfunctional South Deep mine, which he restored to profitability. South Deep promptly plunged back into the red after Muller left to take the top job at Implats. So he’s no stranger to what the Aussies call “the hard yards” and is likely to steer Implats successfully through the current crunch.

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