Eastplats to sell Crocodile River Mine to Chinese firm for $50m

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Dual-listed Eastern Platinum (Eastplats) plans to sell its South African subsidiary Barplats Mines, which holds the Crocodile River mine (CRM), to Chinese company Hebei Zhongheng Tianda Platinum (HZT) for $50-million.

The companies have entered into a definitive agreement and the transaction remains subject to certain conditions including regulatory approvals.

The parties had agreed that certain events, including the failure of both parties to perform certain obligations under the acquisition agreement, would trigger the payment of break fees of up to $10-million in the case of HZT failing to meet its obligations and $5-million in the case of Eastplats failing to meet its obligations.

Upon closing the acquisition, HZT would assume operating responsibility for the CRM and ownership of Barplats Mines.

Eastplats would maintain ownership of its Eastern limb projects, which include the Mareesburg, Spitzkop and Kennedy’s Vale projects.

“We are pleased that HZT’s plans to inject foreign capital and the creation of much-needed jobs will stimulate socioeconomic development in areas surrounding the CRM.

“We will retain our large and shallow Eastern limb platinum-group metal (PGM) project base. While the PGM sector remains under pressure, closing the transaction will leave Eastplats extremely well capitalised,” said Easplats president and CEO David Cohen.

Eastplats assured shareholders that HZT was not connected to Hebei Zhongbo Platinum, to which Eastplats previously planned to sell all its South African assets. That transaction was unsuccessful, owing to a shareholder dispute with Hebei Zhongbo Platinum.