South African minsands producer Exxaro Resources is to sell all its mineral sands assets to US titanium dioxide (TiO2) pigment producer Tronox in return for a 38.5% stake in its newly-formed company.
Under the agreement, Tronox will acquire all of Exxaro’s minsands operations which include Exxaro’s 50% interest in the Tiwest JV with Tronox in Western Australia, along with 74% of its KZN Sands and Namakwa Sands operations in South Africa.
The deal is expected to be finalised in H1 2012. Following this, Tronox will form a new Australian-domiciled holding corporation called “New Tronox” to combine its assets with Exxaro’s mineral sands operations, in which Exxaro will hold a 38.5% share.
Tronox...