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Overview

CDB provides $650 million long-term, loan to Wesizwe Platinum for the Bakubung Platinum Mining Plant Construction Project (Linked to Record ID#58675, #58676, #2479)

Commitments (Constant USD, 2023)$465,287,081
Commitment Year•2013Country of Activity•South AfricaDirect Recipient Country of Incorporation•South AfricaSector•Industry, Mining, ConstructionFlow Type•Loan

Status

Project lifecycle

Implementation

Pipeline: PledgePipeline: CommitmentImplementationCompletion

Timeline

Key dates

Commitment date
Jan 1, 2013
First repayment (originally scheduled)
Dec 31, 2018
Last repayment (originally scheduled)
Dec 29, 2027

Geospatial footprint

Map overview

Visualizes the AidData-provided feature geometry for this project.

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The Bakubung platinum mine site is located near Rustenburg in the Western limb of the Bushveld Igneous Complex. Its precise locational coordinates are 25°22'52.2 S, 27°04'37.8 E. More detailed locational information can be found at https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/782177435 and https://www.mindat.org/maps.php?id=259289.

Stakeholders

Organizations involved in projects and activities supported by financial and in-kind transfers from Chinese government and state-owned entities

Ultimate beneficial owners

At least 25% host country ownershipAt least 25% Chinese ownership

Funding agencies

State-owned Policy Banks

  • China Development Bank (CDB)

Receiving agencies

Private Sector

  • Wesizwe Platinum Limited

Loan desecription

CDB provides $650 million long-term, loan to Wesizwe Platinum for the Bakubung Platinum Mining Plant Construction Project

Grace period•6 yearsGrant element•36.5275%Interest rate (t₀)•4.00825%Interest type•Variable Interest RateLoan tenor•6-month rateMaturity•15 years

Narrative

Full Description

Project narrative

In January 2013, Wesizwe Platinum Limited (or “Wesizwe Platinum”) — a South African mining company — announced that it had secured a $650 million loan from the China Development Bank (CDB) for the development of Wesizwe Platinum's Bakubung Platinum Mine, following approval from the credit committee of CDB in November 2012. The loan had an interest rate of six-month Libor plus a 3.5% margin, with a grace period of 6 years and a maturity of 15 years. The first drawdown from this loan occurred in January 2014. As part of the loan agreement, CDB and Wesizwe Platinum signed two separate $100 million short loan contracts in December 2012, which were to be refunded by part of the $650 million long-term loan. These short-term bridge loans are captured via Record ID#58675 and ID#58676. These financing arrangements are in accordance with the terms and conditions of an investment agreement between Wesizwe Platinum and China-Africa Jinchuan Investments (Pty) Ltd in May 2011, in which Jinchuan Group Limited and CADFund purchased 45% stake in Wesizwe Platinum (see Record ID#2479) and agreed to invest in the struggling Bakubung platinum mine. The Bakubung Platinum Mining Plant Construction Project reached the implementation stage, but its precise start and end dates are unknown. The mine, which has an expected economic life span of 35 years, is likely to manufacture 350,000oz of platinum group metals at a cost of R12bn per annum. Main commissioning was scheduled for 2018 and full production was anticipated in 2023.

Staff comments

1. The transaction (financial commitment) amount is recorded as $450 million as the $650 million was used to refinance 2 short-term CDB loans worth $100 million each. This is done to avoid double-counting CDB's financial commitment amount. 2. In January 2013, the average 6-month Libor rate was 0.488%, so AidData has estimated the all-in interest rate by adding 0.488% to 3.5% (3.988%).