Musings From Abroad

Cancelled Brazil mines contract may cost S’Africa’s Sibanye $522 million

Published

13 hours ago

October 15, 2024

Following the cancellation of a $1.2 billion agreement to purchase Appian’s Brazilian nickel and copper mines, investment firm, Appian Capital Advisory, has filed a $522 million compensation claim against South African miner Sibanye Stillwater, the company announced on Monday.

Last week, the London High Court mandated that Sibanye pay Appian for the lost deal, with a hearing scheduled for November 2025 to decide the exact amount of damages.

“Appian currently claims damages of up to $522 million,” Sibanye spokesperson James Wellsted told Reuters. “Sibanye’s case is therefore that Appian is entitled to either no or significantly reduced damages.”

An Appian representative declined to provide a statement.

In what would turn out to be its largest venture into the battery mineral business, Sibanye announced in October 2021 that it would be purchasing the mines owned by affiliates of funds advising them.

It backed out of the deal three months later, claiming that the Santa Rita mine’s instability would have had a significant negative influence on operations going forward.

According to Wellsted, the claims Sibanye obtained include pre-judgment interest, expenditures and expenses related to the mines’ administration and resale procedure, and the difference between the agreed-upon purchase price and the market value of the shares in the mines.

The financial obligations place additional strain on Sibanye CEO Neal Froneman, who is already dealing with growing losses brought on by a decline in the price of platinum group metals.

According to Wellsted, Sibanye intends to contend that Appian violated a fundamental tenet of English contract law, which requires a claimant to take reasonable measures to lessen its losses.

“Appian is required to mitigate its loss by accepting offers for the mines at fair market value and to account for any profits it has made from its continuing ownership of the mines,” he added.

Related Topics:Brazil mines Featured Sibanye-Stillwater South Africa

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Musings From Abroad

Uganda, Turkey announce $3 billion electric train agreement

Published

7 hours ago

October 15, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Uganda announced on Tuesday that it had reached a $3 billion agreement with a Turkish business to construct an electric railway line that would connect the landlocked nation to Kenya, its neighbour.

According to Transport Minister, Katumba Wamala, the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) track will connect Malaba on the Kenyan border with Kampala, the capital of Uganda.

“We signed a contract with Yapi Merkezi from Turkey for construction of a 272-kilometre (170-mile) line at euros 2.7 billion,” or $3 billion, Wamala told AFP.

He claimed that work on the line, which is a 1,700-kilometer regional rail project, is scheduled to start in November and that Yapi Merkezi had stated that the project would be finished in four years.

“With the railway network in place, Uganda hopes to overcome the long delays of transporting goods from Mombasa,” Wamala said, referring to Kenya’s Indian Ocean port city which is a major gateway for Ugandan trade.

According to Yapi Merkezi, the agreement includes both the delivery of train cars and the building of the railway. The trains can travel at speeds of up to 120 km/h and can carry 25 million tonnes of cargo annually.

“This should enable us to cut cargo transport costs by half,” Ramathan Ggoobi, permanent secretary at the Ugandan finance ministry, said in a government video shared online.

“I am telling you we are the second most expensive route in the world… now we should be amongst the most competitive.”

The Turkish company and Tanzania reached a separate agreement to build an electric railway connecting the nation’s major hubs, which was followed by the Ugandan accord.

In July of this year, services on the SGR line that links the capital Dodoma with Tanzania’s biggest metropolis Dar es Salaam commenced.

In 2022, Tanzania also came to an agreement worth $2.2 billion with a Chinese company to construct the last segment of the SGR line, which will connect Tanzania’s main port to its neighbours.

Musings From Abroad

Uganda signs contract with Yapi Merkezi to develop rail

Published

1 day ago

October 14, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The Ugandan government and Turkish construction company, Yapi Merkezi, inked a contract on Monday to build a 272-kilometer (169-mile) stretch of railway, an official from Uganda stated.

Perez Wamburu, the project coordinator for Uganda’s Standard Gauge Railway, stated that the agreement covered the first phase of a 1,700 km electrified train line, costing 2.7 billion euros ($3 billion).

According to Wamburu, work on the project will begin in November.

At the signing event, Bageya Waiswa, the permanent secretary of Uganda’s works ministry, stated that the project will boost trade and lower transportation costs.

He stated that Uganda will finance the project, which will take 48 months to finish once it is underway, using both its own money and loans from export credit institutions.

The rail segment will connect landlocked Uganda to its neighbour’s rail network at the Kenyan border, Malaba, and eventually the Indian Ocean seaport of Mombasa. It will stretch from the capital, Kampala, to this location.

Uganda and China Harbour and Engineering Company Ltd. (CHEC) reached an agreement in 2015 to carry out the project, provided that CHEC assisted in obtaining funding for the railway from the Chinese government.

Uganda ended the deal last year and started negotiations with Yapi Merkezi, which is working on a project identical to this in adjacent Tanzania, after years of failed negotiations.