US body extends review of Stillwater acquisition; Sibanye provides update on reserves

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – JSE-listed Sibanye Gold has received written notification from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) that it wishes to undertake further investigation of the company’s proposed R30-billion acquisition of US-based platinum group metals (PGMs) producer Stillwater Mining Company.

The notification is in line with standard CFIUS procedure for a transaction of this nature, Sibanye said in a statement on Friday.

In February, Sibanye received approval from the South African Reserve Bank for the acquisition, with the miner noting that the transaction remained on schedule to close during the second quarter of this year.

Sibanye, led by CEO Neal Froneman, said that, while the CFIUS investigation would be completed by no later than April 14, it could be concluded sooner.

Meanwhile, in an update on its reserves as at December 31, Sibanye declared a 2.3-million-ounce reduction in its total gold mineral reserves to 28.7-million ounces.

The miner attributed the decrease to the cessation of underground mining at Cooke 4, resulting in the exclusion of 2.1-million ounces of resources and 500 000 oz of reserves.

However, the company’s total gold mineral resources increased by 3% to 102-million ounces.

Further, while Sibanye declared a maiden 4E PGMs mineral resources of 126.5-million ounces and reserves of 23.2-million ounces, positioning it in the top five PGM companies globally, the company still saw a 12.5-million-ounce decrease in 4E PGM mineral reserves year-on-year.

This, it said, is owing to 1.7-million ounces being depleted through mining; the sale of the Everest mine during the reporting period, accounting for 1.1-million ounces; the duplication of reported reserves of 2.4-million ounces declared by Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) at the Rustenburg operations; the application of more conservative commodity price assumptions used by Sibanye relative to those previously used by Amplats and Aquarius Platinum, resulting in a reduction of 6.2-million ounces at Rustenburg and 900 000 oz at Kroondal's Marikana operation.