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LON
LOLMI
LON - Lonmin - Lonmin and IFC partnership
Lonmin Plc
(Incorporated in England and Wales)
(Registered in the Republic of South Africa under registration number
1969/000015/10)
JSE code: LON
Issuer Code: LOLMI & ISIN: GB0031192486
("Lonmin")
13 March 2007
Lonmin and IFC announce a ground breaking partnership to facilitate sustainable
community development
Lonmin is pleased to announce it has signed a ground breaking partnership with
the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to facilitate sustainable community
development and black economic empowerment (BEE) in South Africa.
The partnership breaks into three parts:
- A stand by debt facility of US$100 million which can be used to facilitate
BEE participation in Lonmin`s projects in South Africa;
- An option for the IFC to invest up to US$50 million in Lonmin equity of
which Lonmin has committed to use the first US$15 million to fund local
community projects around its South African operations; and
- A joint Lonmin and IFC US$5.9 million Technical Assistance and Advisory
Services Programme covering BEE Supplier Development, Gender Mainstreaming,
HIV/AIDS Prevention and Community Development Programme.
Commenting on the partnership, Chief Executive Brad Mills said:
"This innovative partnership reflects Lonmin`s continued commitment to the long
term sustainablity of the communities impacted by our operations and our strong
support for the ongoing development of black economic empowerment in South
Africa. This programme will ensure a substantial direct investment in our
local communities which, in partnership with these communities, will be utilised
to deliver real improvements to community wellness. We are delighted to have
the assistance and technical expertise of the IFC in this area and look forward
to working closely with them in the future."
Enquiries:
Alex Shorland-Ball +44 (0)20 7201 6060
Vice President,
Investor Relations & Communications
The Lonmin IFC partnership is structured as follows:
Stand By Debt Facility
The IFC has agreed to provide a US$100 million standby loan facility to Western
Platinum Limited, a subsidiary of Lonmin. This facility is available to
facilitate the participation of any BEE partner selected by Lonmin in any Lonmin
project. In addition the facility can be drawn down to fund any of Lonmin`s
current or future expansion projects. The loan will be repayable in 6 equal
instalments with the first due 7 years after first draw down and will attract
interest at 1.5% above LIBOR.
Equity Investment
Lonmin has granted the IFC an option to acquire new Lonmin shares up to a value
of US$50 million. Lonmin will issue new shares to the IFC following exercise of
the option at a discount of 5% to the market price prevailing on the London
Stock Exchange at the time of exercise. The option is exercisable at the IFC`s
discretion and can be exercised in tranches of a minimum of US$10 million. The
option remains valid for 2 years from today`s date.
Lonmin has committed to invest the first US$15 million received from the IFC
under the equity option in community projects to benefit the communities which
host Lonmin`s operations in South Africa.
Technical Assistance and Advisory Services Programme
Lonmin and the IFC will design and implement a three year comprehensive
Technical Assistance and Advisory Services Programme in support of Lonmin`s
sustainable community development programme for the communities on and around
Lonmin`s operations in South Africa. This Programme will also support Lonmin`s
ongoing commitments in its Social and Labour Plans. The total cost of this
Programme will be around US$5.9 million and will be split equally between Lonmin
and the IFC.
The Technical Assistance and Advisory Services Programme splits into four areas:
BEE Supplier Development
The IFC will partner with Lonmin to implement a supplier development programme.
This programme will aim to expand Lonmin`s BEE and local supplier base by
identifying new suppliers, increase the competitiveness of BEE companies through
training and capacity building and broker involvement and co-operation with
other regional mining operators and/or industry clusters to catalyse small and
medium sized enterprise (including BEE) development in North West Province and
facilitate supplier access to finance.
Gender Mainstreaming
The IFC will assist Lonmin with the fine-tuning of its gender mainstreaming
strategy and help implement mechanisms for the increased participation of
females within Lonmin`s operations.
HIV/AIDS
Lonmin and the IFC will work together to jointly design and implement
comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention programmes to enhance the existing programmes
operated by Lonmin.
Community Development Programme
The IFC will help Lonmin to facilitate local stakeholder dialogue and assist
local stakeholders, particularly assisting Lonmin to further develop its working
partnerships with local municipalities and tribal authorities to increase the
capacity to effectively plan and implement community development projects.
END
Notes to Editors
IFC, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, promotes open and
competitive markets in developing countries. IFC supports sustainable private
sector companies and other partners in generating productive jobs and delivering
basic services, so that people have opportunities to escape poverty and improve
their lives. Through FY06, IFC Financial Products has committed more than $56
billion in funding for private sector investments and mobilized an additional
$25 billion in syndications for 3,531 companies in 140 developing countries. IFC
Advisory Services and donor partners have provided more than $1 billion in
program support to build small enterprises, to accelerate private participation
in infrastructure, to improve the business enabling environment, to increase
access to finance, and to strengthen environmental and social sustainability.
For more information, please visit www.ifc.org.
Date: 13/03/2007 11:00:01 Produced by the JSE SENS Department.
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