OVERVIEW
Mining Impala Platinum has gained control of Royal Bafokeng Platinum.
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sale that was first mooted in 2021 was finally resolved in June 2023 when Northam Platinum agreed to sell its stake in Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBPlat) to Impala Platinum (Implats). That sale took Implats’ holding in RBPlat to 91% after it had bought 9.26% of the company from Public Investment Corporation (PIC) earlier in the year to give it a majority holding. The RBPlat platinum group metals (PGM) facility, which lies directly south of Sun City, is adjacent to Implats Rustenburg’s land. The Impala Rustenburg operation comprises a nine-shaft mining complex and concentrating and smelting plants. The big sale coincided with a decline in the global prices of some of the PGMs such as palladium and rhodium. Whereas platinum attracted a price of $1 070 not long ago, in November 2023 it was trading at $869. Although the prospects for PGMs are good in support of the nascent hydrogen economy, a slowing Chinese economy and the expanded market for electric vehicles are negative factors. In July 2023, as scheduled, De Beers Group celebrated the beginning of production at its Venetia Mine, pictured, in the northern part of Limpopo Province. The long-term, $2.3-billion conversion project of the diamond mine to an underground mine began in 2012 and will extend the life of the mine to 2045 or beyond. The
SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS 2024
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SECTOR INSIGHT De Beers’ giant conversion project has started producing diamonds. mechanised underground operation will deliver up to seven-million tons of kimberlite ore per year to produce fourmillion carats of diamonds. Construction of the mine, which employs 4 300 local people, is now 70% complete. In the Northern Cape, the Namakwa Special Economic Zone in Aggeneys is being envisioned as an industrial cluster for mining and agriculture services, beneficiation and manufacturing. The hub of this PHOTO: De Beers Group
