LONDON, Feb 24 -- Minerals explorer Obtala Resources PLC (OBT.LN) Wednesday said it has acquired a 37% stake in a South African mining project targeting deposits of up to 20,000 tons of tin.

The firm has agreed to pay $4 million for a 50% stake in Guernsey-based Greenhills Resources, which owns 74% of the Mokopane Tin Project.

Obtala's investment will be paid in installments, and used to bring the project to production in the first half of 2012, it said.