big news acquistion finalised today

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BIG NEWS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ACQUISITION COMING!!!!

"part of an acquisition it is busy finalising, CEO Terry McConnachie said.

“We are putting together agreements, which should be completed today and we will make the acquisition within the next six months,” McConnachie told Miningmx

http://www.miningmx.com/platinum/221228.htm



“We have a big war chest, but we would also like to have a South African listing because there are so many opportunities in the junior sector. It makes acquisitions in South Africa so much easier,” he said. Sylvania has cash of R300m.

The company is focused on platinum and McConnachie has said in the past Sylvania is looking for more platinum-containing tailings to grow the business. It would not be averse to looking for primary platinum assets either.

“So many South African opportunities are coming our way and it is too difficult to give offshore paper,” he said.

Sylvania recovers platinum from 13 tailings dumps owned by Samancor and is looking for further areas of growth because those dumps will be depleted over the next six years. One it is treating just new risings, material through the plants will decrease by half to 15,000 tonnes a month.

It will have six chrome washing plants and four platinum recovery plants treating the dumps.


When all its plants are in operation by early 2009, Sylvania will produce at least 80,200 oz of platinum group metals a year, but McConnachie said it is improving recoveries and finding better platinum grades on the dumps than the base case shows.

The next big project Sylvania is engaged in is the development of a 100,000 to 120,000 oz platinum mine at Everest North in conjunction with Eastern Platinum. The project could cost about R500m and Eastern Platinum could take 60% of the venture.

The total prospect is about 60% the size of Aquarius Platinum’s Everest South mine. It has an in-situ resource of some three million ounces, and mining could begin in October next year.

“We are six months away from signing the final joint venture agreement with Eastern Platinum,” McConnachie told the conference.

Once the dumps are depleted, Sylvania will continue treating new tailings generated by Samancor, one of South Africa’s leading ferrochrome producers.

At the Chrome Tailings Re-treatment Project, which is 50% owned by Aquarius Platinum and 25% by Sylvania, a further R50m will be spent to improve recoveries.