Sibanye slumps as CEO pushes on with bid to buy Mopani Copper Mines
Shares in Sibanye-Stillwater slumped more than 11% on Tuesday as its CEO confirmed the South African company is pressing ahead with a bid for Zambia's Mopani Copper Mines after a 37% slump in first-half profit.
The Johannesburg-based precious metals producer is on the investor shortlist of potential buyers for the state-owned copper mines. The Zambian government had expected to have chosen the winning bidder by the end of July.
Sibanye may bring in a partner at Mopani and the outcome of the bidding process would be known in about three weeks, CEO Neal Froneman said on a conference call.
The Mopani assets require a significant amount of investment but that's spread over a number of years, Froneman said.
"We prefer working with partners and prefer earning-in so don't factor into your thinking a large capital outlay for Mopani," he said.
The South African platinum mining giant is seeking to expand in metals that are key to the green revolution. It has already bought lithium and nickel assets in Europe and the U.S. while its domestic operations continue to be hit by rolling electricity blackouts and rising crime.
The process to select a new investor is competitive and Sibanye and one another company are the only bidders remaining in the process to acquire Mopani, Froneman said.
Sibanye's Johannesburg-listed shares had slumped by more than 11% by 1351 GMT.
The miner's push to acquire the copper assets in Zambia came despite its profit in the six months to June 30 declining 37% to R7.8-billion amid operational challenges at some gold and platinum mines and lower metal prices, it said on Tuesday.
Platinum and palladium output at its Stillwater operations in the US that were previously hit by flooding dropped by 11%.
Article Enquiry
Email Article
Save Article
Feedback
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
As a reticulator, Egoli Gas provides natural gas to homes and businesses via underground pipes.
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
