Impala Platinum (Implats) has received approvals for its R9 billion empowerment programme that is now in effect.
Last month, Implats informed shareholders it had concluded a transaction to raise broad-based black economic empowerment in its operations and those of Impala Bafokeng.
The Implats empowerment transaction also includes community and employee share ownership schemes.
“Shareholders are advised that all the remaining conditions precedent have been fulfilled, and the effective date of the Empowerment Transaction is 7 June 2024,” Implats said yesterday.
Implats had picked up Siyanda Resources as its empowerment partner, citing the Bakgatla platinum mine’s “demonstrable track record” as well as the “the experience of its executive and operational leadership” and “its standing, reputation and depth of relationships in the broader Rustenburg” community.
The Community Share Ownership Trust (CSOT), established for the the purposes of the empowerment transaction, will “operate for the benefit of a broad range of beneficiaries from previously-disadvantaged communities situated in the host communities identified and defined in the social and labour plans applicable to Implats Rustenburg mine and to the Bafokeng Rasimone mine, the Maseve mine and the Styldrift mines, respectively”.
In terms of financing modalities, the community share ownership trust for subscription to the Implats Rusternburg and Implats Bafokeng shares will be funded by way of interest-free vendor loans from Implats and Implats Bafokeng.
The CSOT will thus be entitled to distribute 65% of its attributable annual dividends from Impala and IBR to the CSOT (and thus for the beneficiaries of the CSOT), with the remaining 35% utilised to service and pay down the interest-free vendor funding.
However, the CSOT will be mandated to pledge and cede its underlying Implats and Implats Bafokeng shares as security for the vendor loans provided by the PGM miner.
BUSINESS REPORT