05 Sep 2021

Premium Nickel Resources (PNR) who are the preferred bidder for BCL mine take over, is expected to complete an asset transfer agreement by end of the month, Selebi Phikwe Town Council mayor, Mr Lucas Modimana has stated.

The team led by the chief executive officer, Mr Montwedi Mphathi paid a courtesy call to Selebi Phikwe Town Council on Thursday to give an update on the progress made and expectations once operations commenced.

Mr Modimana told BOPA that due processes of acquiring the mine and its properties were going well. He said  relevant stakeholders such as the community must plan how and which aspects would they draw benefit from, once the mine was operational.

PNR was granted exclusive access to the BCL mine to conduct a comprehensive due diligence exercise to enable the company to make a decision on the economic viability of extraction and processing of ore resources.

Once assets transfer is complete, Mr Modimana said the company would be expected to undertake a feasibility study that would inform them on the development of the mine.

He said PNR intended not to open the old BCL mine but develop a completely new mine with low carbon print, and the visit was for the council to interact with PNR on the new development.

Mr Modimana said unlike the old BCL mine, the new mine would be green, focusing on adopting smarter and environmentally friendly processes.

He said PNR was aiming to start trading in 2024 and there would be employment and business opportunities for the community whom he encouraged to look beyond finding employment in the mine and come up with sustainable business projects that could draw benefit from trading with the mine.

Mr Modimana said BCL mine closure, which resulted in loss of thousands of jobs in 2016 was an eye opener to the community of Selebi Phikwe hence the need to plan ahead by establishing sustainable projects that could sustain the town beyond.

The visit was also to introduce PNR’s community liaison officer, Ms Shannel Agosi whose role involves driving the company’s vision in the locality, solidifying stakeholder relations and driving the social corporate responsibility programmes.

In random interviews, residents commended PNR for constantly updating stakeholders. They also appreciated government’s efforts to look for investors to run the mine and create employment.

Residents hope the new mine would spring the town back to life once operational. Ends