SIBANYE-Stillwater said on Monday it had concluded the $155.9m acquisition of Reldan, a US platinum group metal (PGM) recycling business.
“The addition of Reldan, at an opportune time in the recycling business cycle, is set to unlock significant value for the group,” said Neal Froneman, CEO of Sibanye-Stillwater.
Reldan processes industrial and electronic waste. It produced 145,000 ounces of gold in its 2022 financial year as well as 22,000 oz of palladium, 25,000 oz of platinum and 3.4 million pounds of copper. For 2022, Reldan generated revenue of $39m in earnings and $28m in free cash flow.
Sibanye-Stillwater currently recycles PGMs from the Columbus Metallurgical Complex near its Montana-based Stillwater mine. Combined with Reldan, the group will produce 170,000 oz of secondary gold and 400 to 450,000 oz of PGMs.
In addition to its US business, Reldan has “an established presence” in Mexico and India where it has strategic joint ventures. In India the joint venture is with Re Sustainability which Sibanye-Stillwater described as one of Asia’s “leading integrated waste management organisations”.
The Reldan acquisition, announced last year, raised eyebrows as it was done amid declining revenues in PGMs. In addition, the group financed the deal using $500m it raised through a convertible loan – finance that Froneman said was exclusively reserved for growth related acquisitions.
In March Sibanye-Stillwater posted a basic earnings loss of R37.7bn (2022: R18.4bn). The losses were heavily skewed towards the second half of the financial year after impairing assets for R47.5bn. On a headline earnings basis the company posted a R1.78bn headline profit (R18.4bn). It passed the final dividend.
