Botswana says it will not by stake in Nkomati mine as it is too expensive
Botswana has withdrawn its decision to buy a 50% stake in SA’s Nkomati mine from Norilsk Nickel because it cannot afford the price tag of about $279m."The kind of situation we are in, where’s that money going to come from?" asked Khaulani Fichani, chairperson of state-owned BCL.BCL is now being managed by a liquidator.In 2014, BCL agreed to buy 50% of the Nkomati nickel mine and 85% of Tati Nickel Mining in Botswana, from Norilsk, the world’s biggest producer of the metal, for $337m. The company said in April it would raise $250m in a bond sale to help fund the purchases.Botswana shut BCL’s unprofitable copper and nickel mine, the country’s oldest, in October and began steps to liquidate it because it could not afford to keep the company running, mineral resources minister Sadique Kebonang said on Saturday. The acquisitions were a way for the country to continue processing metals from other operations given that its own shafts were close to the end of their lives.African Rainbow Min...
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