JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) − JSE- and Aim-listed Jubilee Platinum said on Tuesday that it had inked a binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the acquisition of a company that treats near-surface chrome ore bodies containing platinum group elements (PGE) and held certain mining and prospecting rights.

Jubilee expected that the formal transaction would be concluded by the second quarter of the year. CEO Leon Coetzer told Mining Weekly Online that the company targeted for acquisition could not be named, as negotiations were in a sensitive stage on further properties.

“The acquisition is in line with our strategy to target smaller privately held entities to build up the company’s portfolio of near-term assets over the next two years, which will be used to feed our Middelburg processing facility,” he added.

Jubilee said the target company had a surface stockpile of 500 000 t of PGE-rich mined chrome ore tailings generated from its previous beneficiation operations.

It was believed that these stockpiles could contain more than 40 000 oz of PGE.

“The processing of our own platinum concentrates significantly enhances the business model for Jubilee," said Coetzer.
 

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