Northam buys Eland platinum mine for R175m cash
The former Eland owner Xstrata paid $1bn for mine in 2007
Northam has struck what is arguably the deal of the year, buying the mothballed Eland platinum mine for R175m cash, with the equipment alone worth more than R100m of that price. This reflects the poor investment and mining decisions made by previous Eland owner Xstrata, which bought the mine for $1bn (today worth approximately R13bn) from Loucas Pouroulis in 2007. Glencore, a global marketing and mining company, which acquired Xstrata, has made it clear that platinum was not a commodity it had any interest in and wanted to dispose of as quickly as possible. “On the face of it, it looks like we stole something from Glencore,” said Northam CEO Paul Dunne, commenting on the low price. “That’s not the case. They’re in the bulk commodity business and one of their core lines is chrome,” he said. If you are already a subscriber, please click on the following link below to go to the full article: Northam buys Eland for a paltry R175m If you would like to subscribe to BusinessLIVE Premium t...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.