Sibanye pays Appian $215M to settle dispute

Sibanye-Stillwater (JSE: SSW, NYSE: SBSW) has agreed to pay $215 million to settle its dispute with Appian Capital Advisory over its cancelled purchase of two of the firm’s Brazilian assets.

The settlement comes just before a trial to determine damages was due to begin. In late 2024, a UK court determined that Sibanye had unlawfully abandoned the $1-billion October 2021 deal and was liable to compensate the seller. The South African miner said earlier this year that Appian could have recovered more than $720 million from a judgment.

BMO Capital Markets views the settlement as a slight “positive” for Sibanye. “They are able to comfortably pay this settlement out of current treasury, but it also removes any overhang for Sibanye-Stillwater, allowing them to focus on consistent operational delivery and growth,” the bank wrote in a note on Monday.

Shares in Sibanye-Stillwater closed 7.1% higher on Monday in Johannesburg at 48.96 rand apiece for a market capitalization approaching 139 billion rand (C$11.4 billion).

‘Best interests’

 “The settlement of this protracted legal dispute is in the best interests” of the company, Sibanye CEO Richard Stewart said on behalf of the board and management in a release. 

Sibanye abruptly walked away from the deal to acquire Atlantic Nickel and Mineração Vale Verde from Appian just three months later, citing a dislocation in a pit wall at Atlantic Nickel’s Santa Rita mine.

Appian did not accept the withdrawal, and in February 2022, it took legal action against Sibanye in the High Court of London seeking damages in excess of $1.2 billion, which comprises the $1 billion cash consideration of the deal and $218 million in estimated royalties.

“This positive outcome allows us to close this matter on appropriate terms and focus our full attention on managing our funds and driving continued growth across our portfolio,” Appian founder and CEO Michael Scherb also said.

Battery metals

In attempting to buy the Appian assets, Sibanye was looking to diversify its mining portfolio by increasing its exposure to battery metals, on top of its gold and platinum group mines in South Africa and the U.S. The company also has a lithium project in Finland and owns a nickel plant in France.

The Santa Rita mine has been one of the largest open-pit nickel sulphide mines that is nearing depletion, after which it will transition to underground. Mineração Vale Verde’s Serrote copper mine in Alagoas, eastern Brazil, is expected to produce about 20,000 tonnes copper-equivalent annually over 14 years.

The Appian transaction is not the only major battery metals deal that Sibanye has U-turned on. Earlier this year, the miner scrapped its planned investment in the Rhyolite Ridge lithium-boron project in Nevada, also announced in 2021, citing a weak market environment.