Cash-strapped Wesizwe Platinum, whose “going concern” status remains in limbo, is facing a possible suspension in the trade of its shares by the JSE after its failure to furnish its annual report on time.
The Chinese state-owned company was put on notice on Friday for not submitting its annual report within the four months set out in the bourse’s listing requirements.
“Accordingly, the company’s listing on the JSE trading system has been annotated with an ‘RE’ to indicate that it has failed to submit its annual report timeously and that the listing of the company’s securities is under threat of suspension and possible removal,” the exchange said.
Wesizwe has until the end of May to file the report, the JSE said.
The timeline given by the JSE is at odds with Wesizwe’s regulatory filing in mid-April — in which it said it is committed to publishing the annual financial statements “on or before July 31 2025” alongside the annual report.
The group’s Chinese consortium shareholder comprises Jinchuan Mining and China-Africa Development Fund.
Jinchuan, controlled by the Chinese government, is one of the world’s leading producers of nickel and cobalt, with exposure to copper and platinum group metals (PGM) as well.
Wesizwe operates the Bakubung Mine — about 35km northwest of Rustenburg, North West, in the PGM-rich Bushveld Complex. It is in the early stages of production after numerous delays, caused in part by technical glitches at its processing plant and Covid-19 in 2020.
The construction of the mine started in 2011 and was initially scheduled to come into full production in late 2020 before the pandemic threw a spanner in the works, followed by community protests.
The suspension notice by the JSE comes as Wesizwe — run by erstwhile Jinchuan GM Long Zou — has asked for funding from its shareholders to address its cash constraints.
The company is awaiting approval from the China National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) to increase its funding cap from the current $1.5bn.
The NDRC has been set up by the Chinese government to formulate and implement economic policies, plan development, and oversee reforms.
Wesizwe said it was actively working with Jinchuan to finalise the updated funding application report for the Bakubung Project with the company expecting the process to be completed by the end of June.
“The directors of Wesizwe are confident that with the continued support of the majority shareholder and the anticipated approval from the NDRC, Wesizwe will secure the required funding to meet its financial obligations and achieve the operational completion of the Bakubung Project,” the company said in a regulatory filing.
The company sought to assure investors in October that Jinchuan would not walk away from the project.
“At this point the majority shareholder has invested significant capital in the Bakubung project and are unlikely to abandon it. Additionally, per the subscription agreement, the majority shareholder undertook to provide all additional funding as may be necessary to achieve operational completion,” it said at the time.
The company believes the Bakubung mine will produce 1-million tonnes when fully operational.
The company in December was hit by a cyberattack on its operations, which exposed its finance, legal, procurement and human resources functions, including personal information.
The company’s share closed down 5% at 38c on Friday.
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