Platinum Junior Anooraq Looks to South African Listing
By Charlotte Mathews
13 Dec 2006 at 08:40 AM EST
resourceinvestor.com
JOHANNESBURG (Business Day) -- Junior platinum explorer Anooraq Platinum [AMEX:ANO; TSXv:ANO] had applied to the JSE for a secondary listing on the exchange before the end of the month, partly to fulfil conditions of an agreement with its black empowerment partners, it said yesterday.
This would make Anooraq the second foreign platinum company to take a secondary listing on the JSE, and the fourth new resources company listing this month, after Jubilee Platinum [LSE:JLP], GVM Metals [LSE:GVM] and Pamodzi Gold.
Anooraq, whose primary listing is on the Toronto Stock Exchange with a secondary listing on Amex, owns a number of exploration properties on the northern and eastern limbs of South Africa’s platinum-rich Bushveld complex.
On three of these properties — Ga-Phasha, Kwanda and Boikgantsho — it has a joint venture with Anglo Platinum. A pre-feasibility study is under way at Ga-Phasha and is scheduled to be completed early next year.
Two years ago the South African Reserve Bank approved proposals for Anooraq’s black empowerment partners, Pelawan Investments, to convert their 50% interest in the Ga-Phasha project into shares in Anooraq, provided Anooraq took a secondary listing on the JSE by a certain date. Pelawan Investments, through the Pelawan Trust, owns 56.25% of Anooraq.
Anooraq executive director for investor relations, Phumzile Langeni, said Anooraq, through advisers Nedbank, had been in discussions with the JSE for some time and had submitted a pre-listing statement for approval. The listing would be by way of an introduction, not by issuing new shares, but to satisfy JSE requirements Anooraq would be required to put in place a scrip lending arrangement to facilitate some liquidity in its shares.
Langeni said the reason for listing on the JSE was not only to fulfil one of the conditions to the agreement with Pelawan Investments but also because Anooraq was a South African company, with operations in South Africa, a global hub for platinum mining. The listing would also provide Anooraq with currency it could use in future.
Anooraq also said it had been granted new order prospecting rights by the department of minerals and energy on three farms covering 5857ha near Mokopane in Limpopo. |
