Anglo American, Aquarius get South African approval for platinum disposals

Anglo American's platinum subsidiary and Aquarius Platinum have received regulatory approval to sell certain mining assets.

South Africa’s competition tribunal has approved the acquisition of Anglo American Platinum’s Rustenburg platinum mines (RPM) and Aquarius Platinum's its own adjacent operation by Johannesburg-listed Sibanye Gold.

The country's Competition Commission stipulated that retrenchments at RPM and Aquarius within 24 months of the implementation date will be limited to 250 and 14 staff, respectively.

Management at Amplats, which is 80% owned by Anglo American, confirmed talks with Sibanye in September as part of the group's efforts to slim down in response to weak commodity prices.

On Thursday morning a bounce in prices, including copper strengthening 1.5% and iron ore up 3.1%, mingled with the Sibanye news to help shares in Anglo American up 10% to 542.3p by 0930 GMT.