Latest news with #R219
IOL News
7 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Harmony Gold's R18bn acquisition of CSA Copper mine: a strategic move into copper
A Harmony Gold local mine. Harmony Gold's acquisition of the CSA Copper mine in Australia for R18.4 billion has cemented the company's diversification strategy and foray into copper. Image: Supplied Harmony Gold's acquisition of the CSA Copper mine in Australia for R18.4 billion has cemented the company's diversification strategy and foray into copper. Copper, deemed a future proofing mineral, has been the center of merger and acquisition activity among South African and global miners. Now, Harmony Gold, with its diverse footprint of gold in South Africa, is intensifying its exposure in copper. 'The large brownfields projects being pursued by the group are all in copper, signifying Harmony Gold's strategy to diversify away from gold. However, Harmony will predominantly remain a gold producer even after the slated developments are scheduled to come on-stream,' Robbie Proctor, an investment analyst at Anchor Capital, told Business Report on Tuesday. The company entered into a binding agreement acquisition to acquire 100% of the securities in New York listed MAC Copper Limited for $12.25 (R219) per share, implying a total equity value for MAC of $1.03bn, or about R18.4bn. Despite this, shares in Harmony Gold fell by 5.75% in afternoon trade on the JSE to R256.36, erasing the previous seven days' 5.63% appreciation run. Proctor said, 'Copper has the most favourable long-term demand outlook amongst the major commodities while the supply side is just as favourable' at the moment. 'A mine of this size is relatively inconsequential for the large diversified miners like Anglo American, BHP Group and Glencore, providing the opportunity for smaller players to acquire operating copper mines at reasonable valuations. The CSA mine was actually acquired from Glencore in 2023,' added Proctor. Harmony Gold CEO Beyers Nel described the Australian mine Harmony Gold was acquiring as 'a logical fit with the portfolio' as it meets the company's 'core investment criteria, including increasing free cash flow generation while improving margins at long-term expected commodity' prices. He said the acquisition of the CSA Copper Mine in Australia was significant for the company as it introduces a high-quality, established underground producing copper asset to the Harmony portfolio and explained that the CSA mine was one of the highest-grade copper mines in Australia. It produced 41 000 tonnes of copper in calendar year 2024,' said 'We believe that Harmony is well positioned to leverage its expertise in underground mining to further enhance operations. Furthermore, the Transaction represents a significant step forward in transforming Harmony into an increasingly de-risked, higher-quality, global gold and copper producer through disciplined and effective capital allocation,' added Nel. Harmony Gold intends to fund the transaction with a $1.25bn bridge facility together with existing cash reserves. The gold miner has entered into a binding commitment letter with a number of banks that have arranged to underwrite the facility. These include Citibank as global coordinator, initial mandated lead arranger and bookrunner. J.P. Morgan Securities has also been roped in as global coordinator, initial mandated lead arranger while Macquarie Bank Limited will also be involved. The financing facility has a tenure of 364 days plus a 6-month extension, exercisable at the discretion of the company. Earlier this year, Nel said the operating environment in South Africa had started to stabilise, helping the company to lift up earnings for the half year to December although analysts had varying evaluations of the gold miner's diversification strategy into copper.
Mail & Guardian
27-04-2025
- Automotive
- Mail & Guardian
Why the new Suzuki Swift is the best budget car in South Africa
Value: It feels like a brand-new vehicle not an update, and you get a lot of car for your money with the new Suzuki Swift. Photo: Supplied We normally get to pricing at the end of a review but, since we are talking about budget, it is important to explain why the new Suzuki Swift is really the best economy option in South Africa at the moment. It comes in five variants: the base 1.2 GL manual, a 1.2 GL+ manual or CVT and a 1.2 GLX manual (the one we tested) or CVT. The base starts at R219 900 and the GL+ and GLX models are priced at R264 900 and R284 900. The change in shape of the new model has caused a stir among Swift lovers. It looks more compact, the Suzuki badge has been moved from the grille to the new clamshell bonnet, which sports shut lines. It looks like a bug but feels refreshed. It is as if Suzuki has given the consumer a brand-new vehicle from the first look, rather than just an update of the previous model. And that is just the beginning. The interior has also been changed for the better. The fourth-generation Swift maintains its cloth seats but effort has been put into the wrap-around dashboard design and the centre controls have been angled to face more towards the driver. In addition, the boot space has been increased to 265 litres — 580 litres when the back seats are folded down. The model we tested (which is the top-of-the-range manual) has a nine-inch infotainment screen that comes equipped with both wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. A smaller screen is also available in the GL+ model, which also has these features. But what you will get standard, no matter which model you choose, is digital air-conditioning controls; front and rear electric windows; electrically adjustable and folding side mirrors; a height-adjustable driver's seat; an alarm with central locking and rear parking sensors. The GLX also comes with keyless entry. The interior of the new Suzuki Swift is neat with a whole new dashboard design. At just over R200 000, you won't get all of this in many vehicles. Suzuki has refreshed the Swift so deeply that it has even introduced a new Z12E 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine delivering 60kW of power and 112Nm of torque. Having driven the previous generation Swift, I find this one feels more at home on the road. It is less nervous, handles better and has no issues picking up speed. It is by no means underpowered. Even when I had four passengers in the vehicle, it was still fun to drive and easy to manoeuvre. I would, however, watch out for the CVT variants. CVTs do generally feel strained but the manual performed exceptionally. The fuel consumption was also very light as we achieved 5.3 litres/100km. Suzuki has also not cut any corners on safety. I was surprised to be driving a vehicle that cost just over R250 000 that had a rear-view camera, an automatic braking system, a brake assist function and six airbags, including curtain airbags. Apart from the love-me-or-hate-me look that this car has, it is difficult to fault it on any front. There are just too many features for the price. The car is also fun to drive — and has the safety to back up that fun. It's easy to see why the South African Guild of Mobility Journalists has listed the new Swift as a finalist for SA Car of the Year 2025 in the budget category. In my opinion, there is nothing in this price range that can match it — for now.
