Impala Platinum

Impala Platinum Holdings Limited or Implats is a South African holding company that owns several companies which operate mines that produce platinum and platinum group metals, as well as nickel, copper and cobalt. Its most significant mine is the Impala mine in the North West province of South Africa. The company also owns or has interest in the Two Rivers mine and the Marula mine in the South Africa Bushveld Igneous Complex and the Mimosa mine and Zimplats in Zimbabwe, as well as the Impala Refining Services which smelts and refines metals for other companies. In December 2019, Impala Canada was formed, owned by the holding company, out of the acquisition of North American Palladium and its mine in Ontario, Canada.

Impala Platinum Holdings Limited
TypePublic
IndustryPlatinum
Founded1966; 53 years ago
HeadquartersJohannesburg, South Africa
Key people
Mandla Gantsho (Chair)
Nico Muller (CEO)[1]
RevenueR35.9 billion (2018) ZAR
Number of employees
40,000
Websitewww.implats.co.za

History

Implats was formed in 1966 as a subsidiary of Union Corporation, which established a platinum mine in Rustenburg with an initial capacity of 100,000 oz per year.[2] It received technical advice from Canadian company Inco, while British bank Hambros provided financial advice.[3] The two, along with South African state-owned Industrial Development Corporation, each took a 10% share in the company.[4] In 1968, Implats entered into a prospecting accord with the Bafokeng tribe (now the Royal Bafokeng Nation) and obtained a lease for 12,000 ha of land, with production kicking off in July 1969.[5]

During the 1970s, legislation introducing new vehicle emission standards worldwide, including those introduced and pursued in the U.S. by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), increased global demand for platinum.[6] In 1974, Implats began supplying major motor manufacturer General Motors with up to 300,000 t oz of platinum and 120,000  t oz of palladium a year for devices to reduce exhaust pollution.[7]

On 26 January 1973, Bishopsgate Platinum Limited, of which Implats was a wholly owned subsidiary, was listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). On 19 October 1978, Bishopsgate changed its name to Impala Platinum Holdings Limited (Implats).[8]

In 1990, Implats acquired an effective interest in Western Platinum and Eastern Platinum (collectively Lonhro Platinum Division, or Lonplats).[9] A full merger agreement with Lonplats was attained in 1995, but was subsequently blocked by the European Union in 1996.[10]

Between 2000 and 2004, Implats gained mineral rights to establish Marula Platinum and also acquired strategic stakes in Zimbabwean operations Zimbabwe Platinum (Zimplats) and Mimosa Mining Company. It entered into a joint venture with Anglovaal Mining (Avmin) to develop the Two Rivers Platinum project, and sold its stakes in Barplats Mines and Lonplats.

In 2003, Implats' parent company Gencor completed its "unbundling" after having amalgamated with Gold Fields in 1998.[11] Shareholders were given 8.8 Implats shares for every 100 Gencor shares they held.[12]

In March 2011, the government of Zimbabwe implemented laws which required local ownership of mining companies. Following this news, there were falls in the share prices of companies with mines in Zimbabwe, including Implats.[13]

In late January 2014, thousands of employees belonging to Impala Platinum and other platinum mines in South Africa went on strike, demanding a basic salary of R 12,500 (1,180$).[14]

The strike, the longest in the history of South Africa, ended in late June 2014 when the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) signed a  three-year settlement deal with Impala Platinum and other platinum mine owners, which saw workers earning less than R 12,500 get a wage increase of R 1,000 ($95) per month for two years and R 950 ($90) per month in the third year.[15]

In October 2019, Implats announced it would acquire the outstanding shares in Canadian-based North American Palladium Limited for $758 million.[16][17]

North American Palladium Ltd. was purchased by Johannesburg-based Impala Platinum Holdings Limited for CA$1 billion in 2019.[18] Under the terms of the deal, Brookfield Business Partners was paid $570 million for its 81% stake in the company and minority shareholders were paid $19.74 per share.[19] From that point on, the Lac des Iles mine would be operated by the new company called Impala Canada Limited.

Management

Since August 2018, Impala Platinum has been led by company directors Nico Muller (CEO) and Meroonisha Kerber (CFO). Kerber joined the company in August 2018 after her predecessor Brenda Berlin, who had served as CFO since 2011, resigned in February.[20][21]

References
  1. "Implats Distinctly Platinum | Leadership | About Implats". www.implats.co.za. Retrieved 2020-08-22.
  2. Black, William (2000-05-08). The Platinum Group Metals Industry. Elsevier. ISBN 9781845699215.
  3. Black, William (2000-05-08). The Platinum Group Metals Industry. Elsevier. ISBN 9781845699215.
  4. "Mining Weekly - The fascinating early days of a highly-successful platinum play". www.miningweekly.com. Retrieved 2019-06-13.
  5. Comaroff, John L.; Comaroff, Jean (2009-09-15). Ethnicity, Inc. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226114736.
  6. Hsu, Tiffany (2018-12-13). "This Metal Is Worth More Than Gold, and It Scrubs Your Car's Exhaust". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-10-08.
  7. Relations, South African Institute of Race (1973). A Survey of Race Relations in South Africa. University of California Press. ISBN 9780869820407.
  8. "Impala Platinum Holdings Limited (IMPLATS) - AGE (African Growing Enterprises) File". Institute of Developing Economies. Retrieved 2019-06-13.
  9. "Impala Platinum Holdings Limited (IMPLATS) - AGE (African Growing Enterprises) File". Institute of Developing Economies. Retrieved 2019-10-08.
  10. "European Commission - PRESS RELEASES - Press release - THE COMMISSION OPPOSES THE MERGER OF THE PLATINUM OPERATIONS OF GENCOR ANDLONRHO". europa.eu. Retrieved 2019-06-13.
  11. Newswires, Dow Jones. "Gold Fields, Gencor Announce Plans to Merge Gold Operations". WSJ. Retrieved 2019-06-13.
  12. "South Africa: Gencor Discloses the Terms of Impala Platinum Unbundling".
  13. "Impala Platinum earnings leap 41% but Zimbabwe concerns linger".
  14. "SPECIAL REPORT: Platinum strike — an industry teetering on the precipice". BusinessLIVE. Retrieved 2019-06-13.
  15. "Platinum mine workers in South Africa return to work | Africa Leader". 2014-07-14. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2019-06-13.
  16. "South Africa's Impala Platinum to acquire North American Palladium for $758 million". Reuters. 2019-10-07. Retrieved 2019-10-08.
  17. "Impala Platinum Holdings announces acquisition of North American Palladium". CBC. Retrieved 2019-10-08.
  18. "Implats to buy North American Palladium". Mining Journal. October 7, 2019. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  19. Friedman, Gabriel (October 8, 2019). "South African rival to buy North American Palladium". Vancouver Sun. p. B1.
  20. "South Africa's Implats appoints new CFO". Reuters. 2018-06-27. Retrieved 2019-06-16.
  21. "Impala Platinum CFO Brenda Berlin to Leave at End of February 2018". Dow Jones Newswires. 2017-11-21. Retrieved 2019-06-16.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.