Ferrox Agrees to Sell Stake to Former Central Bank Governor

By Ana Monteiro - Jan 11, 2012 11:43 PM GMT+0800

Ferrox Holdings Ltd. agreed to sell as much as a 20 percent stake to the first black South African central bank governor and his brother as the company seeks to raise $150 million to start its iron-ore project in the nation.

Ferrox, based in the British Virgin Islands, signed a memorandum of understanding to sell a stake in the company or some of its units in South Africa for $32 million to Mboweni Brothers Investment Holdings (Pty) Ltd., founded by former governor Tito Mboweni and brother Alto, it said in an e-mailed statement. It plans to raise $150 million in working capital for the Tivani site in Limpopo province during the next 12 months.

The Mbowenis share a “commitment to advance the Tivani project -- one of the most significant deposits of its kind in South Africa -- into a major African iron-ore producer,” Ferrox Chief Executive Officer David McAdam said in the statement.

Tivani output is scheduled to begin in two years, with full annual production of about 2.5 million metric tons of iron ore concentrate expected in three to four years, Ferrox said. It’s also studying output of ilmenite, used to produce titanium.

Mboweni, who quit as central bank governor in 2009, is chairman of AngloGold Ashanti Ltd., the third-biggest miner of the metal, and Nampak Ltd., Africa’s largest packaging company.