In a statement, Amplats said the Alchemy scheme had delivered on its objective of creating sustainable shared value to the company's host communities as well as specific communities from where its employees originated in South Africa's Eastern Cape and North West provinces and neighbouring Southern African Development Community countries.

The R2 billion will be transferred to these communities via regional development trusts (DTs)  which will focus on advancing broad-based community development including infrastructure, education, and health developments, as well as improving livelihoods. 

"Anglo American Platinum is playing a responsible role by catalysing development in our communities," chief executive officer Natascha Viljoen said.

"Through our established governance structures, we will work with the DTs to ensure the careful deployment of this capital so that it can further advance our efforts to deliver shared value and build thriving communities.”

Anglo American Platinum established the Alchemy scheme in December 2011 and the transaction was structured to provide equity ownership in the company to the host communities around its mines and specific labour-sourcing communities, through the development trusts.

At the time of the inception of Alchemy, the company issued about 6.3 million shares at par value of 10 cents per share, which are held by the Lefa Le Rona Trust (LLRT) - the umbrella trust on behalf of the regional development trusts - representing 2.33 percent of the total issued share capital.

The LLRT will hold 1,400,685 unencumbered Anglo American Platinum shares subject to restrictions until December 2021, meaning they cannot be transferred, sold, or encumbered.

Afterwards, 40 percent of the shares can be distributed to the development trusts based on their proportional interest held while the remaining 60 percent will be subject to a twenty-year lock-in period, to the end of December 2041.

African News Agency (ANA)