North West Business 2017 edition

OVERVIEW
workers who suffer retrenchment
will receive a pay-out to support
them while they look for new
employment.
The overall picture for platinum
group metals (PGM) looks
rather better, with chrome in
particular rallying in the second
half of 2016. Palladium and
rhodium have also increased
in price.
The results produced by
Royal Bafokeng Platinum
(RBPlat) in 2016 reflected how
things have changed since the
platinum boom of a just a few
years ago. RBPlat (originally a
joint venture between Anglo
American Platinum and Royal
Bafokeng Holdings) turned a
profit of nearly R600-million in
2014 but the lower prices have
pushed back the construction of
the company’s Styldrift I Project
and led to reduced production
at the Bafokeng Rasimone mine,
resulting in a loss in 2015.
Royal Bafokeng Holdings is
the investment vehicle of the
100 000 members of the
Setswana-speaking Royal
Bafokeng Nation who live in the
Rustenburg valley.
Another partnership with
a community is the Sedibelo
Platinum mine, where the local
Bakgatla traditional authority
has a 26% stake on behalf of the
community (in the Moses Kotane
Municipality of the Bojanala district).
Main community projects
concentrate on water supply,
roads and bursaries for local students.
A hydroponic farm and a
brickworks have been initiated.
Sedibelo (formerly Platmin),
which received investments
from the Industrial Development Corporation (2012) and Pallinghurst
(2014), has a 100-Moz PGM resource base.
Buying and selling
• Impala Platinum is selling its 65% share in Impala Chrome, an
extraction business which is located in Rustenburg.
• The Evraz Group has sold its 78.8% in Brits-based Vametco, a mine
and plant that produces vanadium. Bushveld Minerals, which is
listed on the Alternative Investment Market in London, is the buyer.
• Rustenburg Platinum Mines Limited (including three mine shafts,
two concentrating plants and on-site chrome recovery plant) has
been sold by Anglo American to Sibanye Gold. This is part of the
broader Anglo American strategy to divest itself of a number of its
assets, and also points to a strong acquisitions strategy that Sibanye
Gold has embarked on since it was established in 2012. With some
other acquisitions, Sibanye now controls about 800 000 ounces
of platinum and uranium as a by-product of its gold production.
With the possibility that it will also buy coal mines, Sibanye Gold
will likely change its name in the near future as it looks more like
a resources company.
SEZ and SPI
The Platinum Valley Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is to be established
at Mogwase in the Bojanala District, north of Rustenburg and east of
Sun City. When fully developed, 200ha of land will be given over to
three infrastructure facilities comprising Logistics, Light Manufacturing
and Heavy Manufacturing. Areas of investment that are expected to
grow fastest include fuel cell technology (in which platinum is a vital
component), machinery for mining, energy generation and renewable
energy component manufacturing.
A range of incentives will be available to potential investors via the
national Department of Trade and Industry (dti). By way of example,
the 121 Tax Allowance Incentive offers capital investment allowances
and training support up to R900-million for new or existing industrial
projects. There are a number of other incentives specific to investors
in an SEZ.
The Seda Platinum Incubator (SPI) is an initiative of the Platinum Trust
of South Africa and is funded by the Small Enterprise Development
Agency (Seda) through its Seda Technology Programme (Stp)
with the support of the North West Provincial Government and
private companies.
Located in Rustenburg, the SPI trains people through the making
of jewellery, chiefly the design and manufacture of platinum group
31 NORTH WEST BUSINESS 2017