Sibanye-Stillwater to acquire nickel mine and copper mine in Brazil
JOHANNESBURG – Sibanye-Stillwater has announced that it has signed definitive purchase and sale agreements with affiliates of funds advised by Appian Capital Advisory LLP (Appian) to purchase 100% of both the Santa Rita nickel mine (Santa Rita) and the Serrote copper mine (Serrote), located in Brazil, for a cash consideration of US$1.0 billion and a 5.0% net smelter return (NSR) royalty over potential future underground production at Santa Rita.
Commenting on the Transaction, Neal Froneman, CEO of Sibanye-Stillwater said: “The Transaction is a significant additional step in Sibanye-Stillwater’s ongoing strategy to position the business for continued value creation during our transition into a climate change resilient business, and follows and complements the Keliber, Sandouville and Rhyolite Ridge transactions announced earlier this year. The Transaction represents a unique opportunity for Sibanye-Stillwater to acquire significantly pre-developed and pre-capitalised, low-cost, producing nickel and copper assets with strong ESG credentials, which will continue to be managed by a high-quality team with a wealth of operating experience in Brazil.”
In line with Sibanye-Stillwater’s strategy to build an operating portfolio of green metals and related technologies, this Transaction is a further meaningful step – adding two low-cost, producing assets to its green metals portfolio. Both assets have been substantially pre-capitalised and as a result, the Transaction will be immediately accretive to Sibanye-Stillwater’s cash flow and earnings.
Santa Rita is one of the largest nickel-cobalt sulphide open pit mines in the world, located in the State of Bahia, Brazil and includes a preliminary economic assessment (PEA)-stage underground project. The mine produces a sulphide concentrate suitable for downstream processing to produce battery precursors and has outstanding infrastructure resulting from significant historical investment.
Serrote is a producing open pit copper mine, currently in ramp up, located in the State of Alagoas, Brazil and developed at a cost of US$195 million.
Santa Rita and Serrote are both low-cost and low carbon intensity operations with strong cultural alignment with Sibanye-Stillwater’s focus on health and safety, the environment and local communities. In addition, each asset has a well-defined pipeline of organic growth opportunities including mine optimisation, on site resource potential and regional exploration opportunities.
