South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe’s ARM acquires Bokoni mine for $334 million

Omokolade Ajayi -

African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), a South African diversified mining group led by billionaire businessman Patrice Motsepe, has finalized the acquisition of the Bokoni Platinum Mine, a joint venture owned by Johannesburg-based Anglo-American Platinum (Amplats) and Toronto-based Atlatsa Resources Corporation.

The acquisition was completed at a cost of R3.5 billion ($334 million), as the Motsepe-led mining group seeks to expand its mining operations by acquiring mines with low operating costs.

The move comes three months after the group announced plans to acquire the Bokoni Platinum Mine in South Africa’s Limpopo province as part of its efforts to resurrect the abandoned facility.

This aligns with ARM’s investment and operational strategies, which include purchasing ailing and low-producing gold and precious metal mine shafts and transforming them into high-producing and profitable mines.

ARM will invest R5.3 billion ($334 million) per year in the development of the mine to get it up and running.

It added that the investment will aid the company’s transformation into a “significant” global primary PGM manufacturer, with an annual target of more than 1.2 metric ounces (on a 100-percent basis) and 650,000 ounces (on an attributable basis) by 2026.

The sale of the Bokoni Platinum Mine is part of Amplats’ divestment strategy to create value from its existing portfolio of assets, while unlocking shared wealth for shareholders.

In 2017, Atlatsa Resources placed the Bokoni mine under care and maintenance as part of a debt-cancellation and restructuring agreement with Amplats.

The move came after more than 6,400 workers, or one-third of the mine’s workforce, were laid off in accordance with the terms of the restructuring agreement.

Since then, Atlatsa and Amplats have had to deal with the need to find an investor with the operational, technical and financial capacity to restart and operate the mine in a safe and sustainable manner to support economic growth and job creation in the area.