15th Jun 2005 07:00
Lonmin PLC15 June 2005 LONMIN COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF SOUTHERN PLATINUM Renames Messina mine Lonmin Platinum Limpopo Lonmin Plc ("Lonmin") announces today that its wholly owned subsidiary, LonminInvestments Canada Inc. ("Lonmin Investments"), has paid for the common sharesin the capital of Southern Platinum Corp. (TSX:SPC) ("Southern Platinum")deposited and taken up on 10 June 2005 in connection with Lonmin Investment'soffer (the "Offer") to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares(the "Shares") in the capital of Southern Platinum. The 81,027,739 Shares taken up and paid for by Lonmin Investments representapproximately 92.6% of the aggregate number of Shares issued and outstanding,giving Lonmin an indirect controlling interest in Southern Platinum. The Offerhas been extended to 5:00 p.m. (Toronto time) on 28 June 2005 to allowshareholders who have not had the opportunity to tender their Shares under theOffer to do so. Lonmin has now taken over control of the Messina mine operations, which will berenamed Lonmin Platinum Limpopo with immediate effect. Lonmin has also completedthe acquisition of the offtake agreement with Impala Platinum. All the former directors of Southern Platinum will be resigning from the boardand will be replaced by Brad Mills, John Robinson, Ian Farmer, Peter Godsoe, andJack Jones who are all directors or senior officers of Lonmin. Lonmin will alsoappoint a further resident Canadian independent director. Ricus Grimbeek, currently Vice President, SHEC, Lonmin, has been appointedPresident, Lonmin Platinum Limpopo. Ricus has been heading Lonmin's integrationplanning team over the last two months and will now assume responsibility forthe mine and the integration process. Lonmin Platinum Limpopo has a strike length of 23 kilometres and an attributablePGM resource base of 20 million ounces (5PGE+Au) to a depth of 1,000 metres. Thecurrent mining operations at Lonmin Platinum Limpopo cover a strike length 4kilometres. Over the next 18 months, Lonmin plans to re-engineer theseoperations to change the mining method to long hole stoping. Production fromLonmin Platinum Limpopo is targeted to increase from the current 45,000 ouncesof platinum per annum to 75,000 ounces of platinum for the financial year toSeptember 2007. Capital expenditure over the next three years to achieve thislevel of production will be around US$75 million. Commenting on the completion of the acquisition, Brad Mills, Chief Executivesaid: "I am delighted that we have managed to complete the acquisition of SouthernPlatinum and take over the running of Messina. The newly named Lonmin PlatinumLimpopo is entering a new era in its development on a financially secure basisand we look forward to working with its employees to realise the potential ofthe Limpopo resource base." **************** This press release includes forward-looking statements. All statements otherthan statements of historical fact included in this press release, and allstatements regarding plans, objectives and expected performance, areforward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements have been based oncurrent expectations and projections about future events, including numerousassumptions. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the useof forward-looking terminology such as "ambition", "may", "will", "expect","intend", "estimate", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "seek" or "continue" ornegative forms or variations of similar terminology. Such forward-lookingstatements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and otherfactors related to Lonmin Plc, Lonmin Investments and Southern Platinum Corp. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Actualresults may differ materially from those expressed in forward-lookingstatements. Given these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, you are cautionednot to put undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. In addition, theinclusion of such forward-looking statements should under no circumstances beregarded as a representation by Lonmin Plc or Lonmin Investments that eitherwill achieve any results set out in such statements or that the underlyingassumptions used will in fact be the case. For Further Information: Lonmin Plc: Alex Shorland-Ball, Vice President Investor Relations & Communications - +44 20 7201 6060 Cardew Group: Anthony Cardew / Nadja Vetter+44 20 7930 0777 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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