Royal Bafokeng receives nod to acquire Maseve Investments

Mid-tier miner Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBPlat) said on Wednesday that competition authorities had approved its $58m acquisition of the surface assets of Maseve Investments.

The highly anticipated transaction would also see RBPlat acquire 100% of Maseve’s shareholding for $12m, something still subject to certain conditions, the company said in a statement.

Maseve Investments is the holding company for the Maseve mine on the Western Limb of the Bushveld Complex near Rustenburg. Dual-listed Platinum Group Metals holds 82.9% of Maseve, and said in September 2017 it would use the cash from the sale to repay debt.

Active mining was suspended at Maseve in July 2017, and lender and investor support for further investment at Maseve in restructuring a more conventional mining format was not available, the Platinum Group Metal’s said at the time.

At 9.45am, RBPlat’s share price was up 3.6% to R33.99, having gained 21.39% so far in 2018.