The two miners signed the transaction framework agreement, which details the basis on which Implats will subscribe for this equity and assist Afplats in developing these assets.  Implats will be granted certain rights/protections commensurate with its investment, the company said in a statement on Monday.

A definitive agreement is currently being drafted with the aim to have concluded the transaction in the first quarter of 2007, subject to all required regulatory approvals being granted, thereby allowing immediate development of the Leeuwkop Project to commence, the parties said.

Under the terms of the TFA, Afplats will transfer its South African subsidiaries, Afplats (SA), Imbasa Platinum and Inkosi Platinum into Newco, a newly-formed South African incorporated company held 100 percent by Afplats.  Implats will subscribe for an effective 29.9 % of Newco for R1.068-billion and will have an option, subject to Afplats shareholder approval which will be sought in early 2007, to convert its shareholding in Newco into Afplats equity in the future should Implats so wish.

The money acquired from the transaction will be used to fund Afplats' R1-billion commitment to the Leeuwkop Project in terms of the recently signed agreement with their Black Economic Empowerment partners, the Bakwena Ba-Mogopa Traditional Community.

The cash injected from the proposed transaction will provide funding for the first two and a half years of the project's development. This will allow the remaining project funding to be secured at a lower cost once the project has been significantly de-risked and mining has commenced, they said.  Implats' technical expertise at the operational level will ensure that the project is successfully and timeously developed in accordance with the Bankable Feasibility Study parameters, they added.

Leeuwkop is located on the western limb of the Bushveld Complex in the North West province of South Africa near the town of Brits.

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