The world’s second-largest platinum-miner, Impala, has agreed to spend R60-million in two years on platinum/nickel project generation in Southern Africa as part of an alliance with Australian explorer Impact Minerals.

Australian Stock Exchange-listed Impact makes a point of avoiding reference to Zimbabwe in its media release, which says that “some” of the Southern African countries included in the alliance’s focus are Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, Madagascar and Malawi, but with no reference to troubled Zimbabwe, where Impala remains intensely active.

Impact says that its alliance is designed to allow Impala Platinum to expand its platinum output and for Impact to gain exposure to Southern Africa’s nickel potential.

Impala will, in terms of the agreement, spend the R6-million by the middle of 2010, enabling it to earn 50% of any project selected for development.

It earns this by free-carrying Impact for the first R15-million of project expenditure. Impala has to spend R7,5-million before being able to withdraw from a project, Impact stipulates.

Impact MD Mike Jones makes the point that nickel is a natural by-product credit of platinum production and Impala wants to increase its production of both platinum and nickel, of which it produced 7 000 t last year.

Jones says that any projects not meeting Impala’s requirements will revert 100% to Impact.

The alliance begins immediately with Impala having first rights to earn equity in any prospects discovered.

Impact, which has prospecting licence applications in Botswana, has appointed former Falconbridge director John Blaine as its COO in Africa. Blaine will manage the alliance from Pretoria.

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