Ben Magara
Photo by: Duane Daws
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Platinum-mining company Lonmin on Wednesday completed three transactions that take the black economic-empowerment (BEE) shareholding in Lonplats to the 26% laid down by South African law.
The London- and Johannesburg-listed company said the three transactions had been concluded with employees and near-mine communities.
These transactions add an 8% BEE equity ownership in Lonplats to the 18% already held by Incwala Resources, Lonmin’s long-standing BEE partner.
The three newcomers to Lonplats’ BEE fray are the Lonplats Employees Share Ownership Trust, which now owns 3.8%; the Bapo Ba Mogale community, which owns another 3.3 % after swapping out its royalty agreement for shares; and the Lonplats Marikana Community Development Trust, which now holds 0.9%.
Employees and host communities now had a vested interest to see that Lonmin succeeded, Lonmin CEO Ben Magara said.
The new shares to the Bapo Ba Mogale will also take in the swap of that community's interest in the Pandora platinum mine.
The Bapo Community Trust, with 0.9% in Lonplats, will implement a profit share scheme for employees and the establishment of the Lonplats Marikana Community Development Trust is for the benefit of specific communities residing in the western portion of the Marikana operations of Lonmin, which has all its mines in the platinum-rich Bushveld Complex.
Incwala’s BEE milestones take in several significant deals that began with the buying of 18% of Lonplats' Eastern and Western platinum mines in 2004, the buying of 18% of Lonmin Platinum Limpopo converted to Western Platinum a year later, and the buying of 26% of Akanani Mining in 2008.
Lonmin mines, refines and markets platinum-group metals within a vertically integrated mine-to-market operational structure.
The company said it would apply to the London and Johannesburg stock exchanges next week for 13 125 436 additional ordinary $1 shares in Lonmin to be admitted for trading .