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>SouthernEra, Mvela chase platinum find
By: David McKay
Posted: 2002/02/13 Wed 20:43 | © Miningweb 1997-2002
CAPE TOWN – Mvelaphanda Holdings [JSE:EDG], the newly-listed black
empowerment group, is applying to buy platinum mineral rights in joint
venture with SouthernEra, a diamond and platinum company with a primary
listing in North America. Patrick Evans, president of SouthernEra, said the
joint venture partners were confident that the mineral rights, held by the
South African government and Anglo Platinum [JSE:AMS], will approve the
application.
Mvelaphanda Resources managing director, Mark Willcox, confirms there are
high hopes for the project largely owing to the existing infrastructure of
SouthernEra's Messina project: "It is only SouthernEra that could develop
this mine because it would be sub-optimal to develop another smelter
complex," he said.
"We are also building in future options for Mvelaphanda Resources," he said.
Mvelaphanda recently unveiled a joint venture with De Beers to search for
diamonds in South Africa. The political clout of Mvelaphanda Resources, and
its relationship with Anglo Platinum, the company with whom it shares a third
platinum producer, Northam Platinum, means that clinching the mineral
rights should be relatively straight-forward.
One South African analyst was excited about the prospect of SouthernEra
developing its platinum options: "We have a company with potential to
produce about 1 million ounces of platinum a year within a ten-year
time-frame," he said. Assuming these long-term ambitions were met,
SouthernEra stands to become a platinum player mid-way between Impala
Platinum [JSE:IMP] and Lonmin [LSE:LON], the UK-listed company.
Evans also unveiled further plans to develop the company's existing Messina
platinum project located in South Africa's Northern province. Following a third
stage development in about five years time, the mine would produce some
500 000 ounces of platinum a year.
Zimplats
One concern governing the feasibility of SouthernEra's Northern Province
platinum plans is the presence of talc in the geology. There are fears, too,
about risk associated with plans by another company to re-open the Hartley
platinum mine following a diastrous write-down by former owner, BHP.
Reopening Hartley is the second stage plan of Zimbabwe Platinum Mines'
(Zimplats') push to develop Zimbabwe's Great Dyke platinum potential.
The first part is to develop Ngezi Platinum Mine. Roy Pitchford, managing
director of Zimplats, says the risk of returning to mining Hartley's
underground resource is not high as the company is not under pressure to
mine the volumes of the previous owners. He also says the emphasis of
Zimplats' activities in the Great Dyke is not on Hartley which is more of a
sweetener in the overall look of the company's assets.
He is also unnerved by the risks of investing in Zimbabwe. Government has
been cooperative, management is largely local and the authorities have
agreed to allow the company to move foreign exchange into an Isle of Man
account. There are plans to give the state a buy-in but the upfront cash
requirement is proving difficult. Pitchford said his company was considering
alternative plans to enable this investment to take place |
