How Zwane’s moratorium may block Amplats mine deal
Another deal that might come unstuck is the conditional sale of two properties to Amplats by beleaguered Atlatsa
One negative consequence of Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane’s proposed moratorium on transferring mineral rights could be the blocking of Anglo American Platinum’s (Amplats’) sale of its Union mine to black-owned Siyanda Resources for up to R6.4bn. Zwane caught the market off guard last week by issuing a notice in the Government Gazette that he was proposing to "restrict" the granting of all new mining and prospecting rights as well as mineral rights transfers. Lawyers have said this was an act beyond Zwane’s powers as stipulated in the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, certainly in the matter of blocking the transfer of mineral rights, such as those in the Union deal. Amplats, the world’s largest platinum producer, announced the Union deal in February but was only in a position to file an application for ministerial approval of a section 11 mineral rights transfer in the next few weeks to give Siyanda ownership of Union, which is expected to produce 160,00...
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