Having taken a leap of faith in 2015, commodities entrepreneur Ruli Diseko is not going to be rushed into hasty decisions today.His Thakadu Group recently announced the commissioning of a $20m (R298m) nickel sulphate refinery, which is located on the premises of Sibanye-Stillwater’s Marikana platinum group metals (PGM) facilities, near Rustenburg in the North West province.
Nickel sulphate is a refined form of the nickel metal that is of interest to manufacturers of electric car batteries. In fact, one of Diseko’s first calls after deciding to make the investment in 2016 was to Tesla, the US carmaker. The company liked what Thakadu was hoping to offer, and it provided an early signal to Diseko that he was on the right track.
Soweto-born Diseko, a UCT commerce graduate, began working life as a commodities trader before joining Lonmin, the former PGM miner. By the time Sibanye-Stillwater concluded its all-share takeover of Lonmin in 2019, Diseko had already decided to strike out on his own, leaving Lonmin and betting all he had to finance R6m of research work by Mintek, the government-owned research institute, into what became Thakadu’s proprietary process technology.
It is handy, though, that Sibanye-Stillwater is Thakadu’s new neighbour given the mining firm’s interest in acquiring battery metals as part of its diversification plan. It makes Thakadu, via its subsidiary Thakadu Battery Materials, an obvious target for the miner.
Esta historia es de la edición 9 April 2021 de Finweek English.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición 9 April 2021 de Finweek English.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
THE HEALTH OF SA'S MEDICAL SCHEMES
As the Covid-19 pandemic abates, finweek takes a look at the financial performance of some of the largest players.
The effect of Gilbertson's departure
With Ntsimbintle Holdings now the major shareholder of Jupiter Mines, it could change SA’s manganese industry.
Making money from music
Why investors are increasingly drawn to the music industry.
Conviction is key
Sandy Rheeder plays a critical role in Mukuru’s mission to open up financial services to the emerging consumer market in Africa through tailor-made technology solutions and platforms.
The post-pandemic toolkit
How CFOs can use technology to support growth.
Big city living exodus
Mini cities like Waterfall City and Steyn City are redefining city-style apartment living.
Big compact, big value
Handsome, with a hefty level of standard specification, the roomy Haval Jolion compact crossover is a great value proposition.
On barriers to entry
There are various ways in which a company or sector can achieve competitive dominance. They usually make for good investments.
Fear and greed in one index
To buck the trend, when markets are hot or cold, is a tough thing to do. However, it can deliver solid returns.
Africa's largest data centre facility coming soon
Vantage Data Centers plans to invest over R15bn for its first African data centre facility in Attacq’s Waterfall City.
