Charlotte Mathews
26 June 2009
Johannesburg — PLATINUM explorer Platfields, which was planning to list on the JSE before the end of the month , has postponed the listing for up to three months.
CEO Bongani Mbindwane yesterday said the delay was because the company was busy with "a corporate action".
This is the fifth postponement of the firm's plans to list, after it initially said it would list in 2003, then 2005, and instead decided to raise funds privately. Last year management said Platfields would list on the JSE before the end of 2008 but it postponed that because of turbulent market conditions.
In March this year, discussing an imminent listing, management said the company held about R70m in cash and would not need to raise any funds at the time of its JSE debut but would probably tap the markets once the company was better known to the investment community.
Mbindwane said Platfields' transaction with Platmile, which sold portions of the Berg property to Platfields in exchange for shares, had a "drop dead" date of 30 June for listing on the JSE to enable the vendors to sell their shares at market prices. But this agreement has been renegotiated to a new deadline of 30 September. Platmile had a representative on Platfields' board of directors and so it was fully aware of the reasons for postponing the listing.
Mbindwane, who returned a week ago from a European road show, said there had been some "interesting" commitments from European investors, which he could not specify because the company was restricted by JSE regulations while it prepared for its listing. The purpose of the road show was to raise awareness of the company, not to raise funds, he said. Platfields would have enough cash when it listed to cover its costs for the next 12 months.
Platfields acquired the rights to its main exploration project, the Berg project, in 2002. The Berg property is close to Northam 's Booysendal and Aquarius Platinum's Everest South projects on the eastern limb of the Bushveld complex. The company said in March it believed there could be up to 16-million ounces of platinum on the prospect. Platfields is also exploring two other platinum properties north of the Berg and a gold prospect near Pilgrim's Rest.
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