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Amplats denies report it seeks Rustenburg buyer

‘We have been making sustainability assessments over the years. So this is nothing new.”

JOHANNESBURG – Anglo American rebutted a media report that proclaimed it was looking for a buyer of its Rustenburg platinum mines in South Africa.

On Monday Business Day ran the headline “Anglo seeks buyer for Rustenburg operations” over a story in which CEO Mark Cutifani all but says so in discussing Anglo American’s strategy for the high-cost platinum mines.

But speaking to Moneyweb on Monday afternoon, Hulisani Rasivhaga, a media specialist at Anglo American, explicitly stated the company was not seeking a buyer for the Rustenburg mines.

She also noted, “This is a very delicate situation and we have been making sustainability assessments over the years. So this is nothing new. It has been a long time coming. The CEO speaks (in the media) on mechanisation and how mines in that area were doing well and that maybe we should be focusing on operating in these areas.”

The Business Day report didn’t specifically quote Cutifani as saying Anglo American was trying to sell the Rustenburg assets, but he makes comments that were highly suggestive to that effect. It reported Rustenburg was no longer a core asset, quoting Cutifani as saying “the Rustenburg resource is not what it used to be”.

In the report he also said, “I don’t think that is where our best skills set sits. That’s why I have been quite vocal saying we should consider taking a step back from Rustenburg. We should be focusing on the more mechanised operations, which is what I think we do much better, and allow someone who has a better skills set in those kinds of assets.”

Rasivhaga said Anglo’s Rustenburg operations remained marginal and the company continued to consider a number of options as part of the on-going review of the portfolio.

This is not the first time media speculation on developments in Rustenburg has caused confusion. Last week, Exxaro denied a Reuters report that it was considering Amplats assets in Rustenburg.

Exxaro said the group was neither in discussions with Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) management on any potential acquisition of its platinum group metals (PGM) assets nor was it assessing the acquisition of Amplats’ assets.

Exxaro CEO, Sipho Nkosi said although the company was continuously monitoring potential opportunities, it had no plans to enter the PGM space in the medium term.

Lonmin, Impala Platinum and Amplats are in the midst of a crippling LOCAL platinum strike.

The strike has lasted for three months and has cost more than R17 billion in production and lost wages. The Association for Mineworkers and Construction (Amcu) is demanding a R12 500 minimum wage salary over a four-year period, while the companies have offered between 7% and 9% increments over three years.

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