Sibanye-Stillwater to acquire nickel and copper mines in Brazil for $1 billion

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(Kitco News) - Sibanye-Stillwater (NYSE:SBSW), the world's largest primary producer of platinum and rhodium, announcedTuesday that it has signed definitive purchase and sale agreements withaffiliates of funds advised by Appian Capital Advisory to purchase 100% of boththe Santa Rita nickel mine and the Serrote copper mine in Brazil.

According to the company'sstatement, Sibanye-Stillwater will purchase both mines for a cash considerationof US$1.0 billion and a 5.0% net smelter return (NSR) royalty over potentialfuture underground production at Santa Rita.

Commenting on the transaction,CEO Neal Froneman said, "The transaction is a significant additional stepin Sibanye-Stillwater's ongoing strategy to position the business for continuedvalue creation during our transition into a climate change resilient business,and follows and complements the Keliber, Sandouville and Rhyolite Ridgetransactions announced earlier this year."

"The transaction represents aunique opportunity for Sibanye-Stillwater to acquire significantlypre-developed and precapitalised, low-cost, producing nickel and copper assetswith strong ESG credentials, which will continue to be managed by a high-qualityteam with a wealth of operating experience in Brazil," he added.

Santa Rita is one of thelargest nickel-cobalt sulphide open pit mines in the world, located in theState of Bahia, Brazil and includes a preliminary economic assessment (PEA)-stageunderground project.

The mine produces a sulphideconcentrate suitable for downstream processing to produce battery precursorsand has outstanding infrastructure resulting from significant historicalinvestment, the company noted.

Serrote is a producing openpit copper mine, currently in ramp up, located in the State of Alagoas, Brazil anddeveloped at a cost of US$195 million.

Sibanye-Stillwater is aleading international precious metals mining company, with a diverse portfolioof PGM operations in the United States and Southern Africa, gold operations andprojects in South Africa, and copper, gold and PGM exploration properties inNorth and South America.

By Vladimir Basov

For Kitco News

Follow kitconewsnow vbasov@kitco.comwww.kitco.com Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.

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