Implats May Seek Financing to Dig Up $2.5 Billion

Mineweb reported that Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. (JSE:IMP) may seek market financing to proceed with a targeted $2.5-billion spending plan.

As quoted in the market news:

That’s the view of Kagiso Asset Management and Abax Investments Pty Ltd., which say the South African producer’s five-year plan for building new shafts will force it to either raise cash or scale back capital expenditure unless platinum prices rebound. While forecasts diverge, Impala Chief Executive Officer Terence Goodlace said on Feb. 26 he didn’t see a recovery in prices for another 18 months.

Impala’s cash pile shrank 49 percent to 2.7 billion rand ($230 million) in the 18 months through December amid a 9.9 percent slump in prices and a labor strike at its Rustenburg operation, the world’s largest platinum mine. At the same time, yields on the Johannesburg-based company’s February 2018 convertible dollar bonds have climbed, reaching a record 7.70 percent on Jan. 16.

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