Sibanye-Stillwater, Appian settle long-running dispute over terminated Atlantic Nickel deal

SIBANYE-Stillwater and Appian Capital Advisory have reached a commercial settlement in their longstanding legal dispute stemming from the termination of Sibanye’s proposed acquisition of Appian’s Atlantic Nickel and Mineragao Vale Verde assets in January 2022.

- SIPHELELE DLUDLA

Under the terms of the agreement, Sibanye-Stillwater will make a total payment of $215 million, inclusive of £5 million in legal fees already paid, to settle the matter.

The resolution comes ahead of a quantum trial that had been scheduled to commence on Monday.

The settlement ends nearly four years of legal wrangling between the two parties over Sibanye-Stillwater’s withdrawal from the $1 billion deal, which would have given the South African mining group ownership of key nickel and copper operations in Brazil.

The root of this dispute lied in a geotechnical event that occurred at the Santa Rita nickel operation in Brazil in November 2021, which Sibanye-Stillwater argued was significant enough to adversely affect the mine’s business and finances.