Vox Royalty to acquire $8.3-million royalties from Neal Froneman’s Sibanye-Stillwater PGM project

Vox Royalty, a Canadian corporation, has agreed to purchase two platinum group metals (PGM) royalties from Sibanye-Stillwater, a Johannesburg-based mining conglomerate founded by South African billionaire Neal Froneman, in a deal worth CAD10.4 million ($8.2 million).

Kyle Floyd and Rob Sckalor co-founded and lead Vox Royalty, a rapidly expanding precious metals royalty and streaming company. The non-binding agreement with Froneman’s group will see it take over core projects operated by Sibanye-Stillwater in Limpopo, a South African province bordering Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

According to the terms, the royalties will collectively cover the entire Limpopo PGM Project operated by Sibanye-Stillwater, which includes a one-percent gross receipts royalty over the Dwaalkop Project, and a 0.704-percent gross receipts royalty over the Messina Project.

Limpopo was last mined in 2009 using the Baobab shaft and concentrator (Baobab Operation), both of which are still in existence and are the subject of continuing Sibanye feasibility studies.

Vox will issue new shares worth CAD1.5 million and make further cash payments at closure, according to the terms of the purchase and sale agreement, which is still subject to customary approval by the TSX Venture Exchange.

Kyle Floyd, the CEO of Vox, commented on the transaction, saying the company will continue to effectively execute its strategy to identify world-class royalties on de-risked businesses with strong near-term catalysts.

He went on to say that the transaction will deliver tremendous value to Vox shareholders for years to come.

“We are very excited to be adding exposure to a fully constructed world-class 18-million-ounce PGM resource with near-term restart potential from a $10-billion operator,” Vox Royalty Executive Vice President for Australia Riaan Esterhuizen said.

With mining infrastructure in place, feasibility studies continuing, and a financially strong operating partner in Sibanye-Stillwater, Esterhuizen disclosed that he anticipates a great upside for the assets.

Sibanye-Stillwater recently announced plans to buy two mines in Brazil as the mining corporation seeks to establish an operating portfolio of green metals and related technology.

Froneman-led firm will buy a 100-percent stake in the Santa Rita nickel mine and Serrote copper mine for a $1-billion cash payment under the formal purchase and sale agreement.