JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Gold-miner Village Main Reef has concluded binding agreements to acquire a controlling stake in precious metals-miner Lesego Platinum in a R507-million all-share deal.

This would be settled through the issue of 253-million Village shares at 200c a share.

Further, Village had acquired the remaining minority interest in the Phosiri project to add an inferred resource of 3,8-million ounces of platinum-group metals and gold to the existing 17,5-million ounces.

The additional resource would be purchased for about R95-million in shares.

“This transaction will give us a 77% economic control over the entire 21,3-million [ounces] inferred resource at Lesego’s Phosiri platinum project.  With the conclusion of the outstanding pre-emptive rights, the next step for shareholders is to approve what we believe to be a value enhancing deal at an upcoming general meeting,” Village director Bernard Swanepoel commented.

Lesego Platinum had started work on a bankable feasibility study (BFS) for the Phosiri project in February and expected to conclude this work before the end of 2012.

Village would leverage the benefits of R142-million of existing capital already raised from the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) to make the project fully funded for the BFS stage.

Village would now control the entire resource of 21,3-million ounces, representing 72% of the total inferred resource of Lesego Platinum with the remaining 28% held by the IDC.

Village would also hold 55% of Sweet Sensation, which held the adjacent Eerste Regt prospecting right. With Lesego’s 45% holding in Sweet Sensation, the company would effectively hold 87,4% of the Eerste Regt prospecting right.