Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman said it may close a metals streaming, or prepayment, deal to raise the cash it needs to boost its balance sheet in the third quarter. The platinum-group metals producer is seeking to raise more than $500m to shore up its balance after earnings plunged due to a rout in metal prices.
A logo of Sibanye-Stillwater is seen at a mine in Marikana. Source: Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko
Potential financiers are currently conducting due diligence at Sibanye, Froneman said on the sidelines of a mining conference in London.
"We've got a number of parties on site doing due diligence so I'm confident within the third quarter we'll certainly be able to complete that process," Froneman said in an interview.
"It could be multiple parties but most likely one."
The metals producer's profits tumbled $2bn last year due to lower prices and after it reported $2.6bn of impairments at its US palladium mines, a nickel operation in France and at a gold operation in South Africa.
Sibanye and its South African rivals including Amplats and Implats are uting thousands of jobs and halting spending on new projects to survive one of the worst price routs in more than 30 years.
'Not short on money,
Earlier this month, Sibanye said all of its lenders have agreed to raise the debt threshold on all facilities, in a move that could help it strengthen its balance sheet.
The CEO said Sibanye "isn't short of money", adding it has about six months of working capital.
Sibanye's earnings are being squeezed by low metal prices and spending on its Keliber lithium project in Finland, which Froneman said, would continue to advance despite falling prices of the battery metal.
RBC Capital Markets is aiding Sibanye on the deal, he said.
"We've run a process and a number of streamers have shown an interest and have made indicative proposals which we have considered and they are on site doing due diligence," he added.
