The chairman of Lonmin, Sir John Craven, is optimistic that the company and Implats will be given empowerment recognition by the Minerals and Energy Department for their establishment of a new black economic empowerment equity company in the mining sector.

'We kept the minister and officials closely informed as we were developing the proposals', he said, according to allAfrica.

By the time the deal is signed in December, Sir John expects there to be more of a sense of how the new company will be structured, and also more evidence of black equity shareholders.

'It is quite reasonable that the minister wants to see what we do with the new company before she can give a full commitment from the Department of Minerals and Energy', he said.

He is confident that the size of the deal will sway things, and also have a knock-on effect on shareholder confidence:

'I think you would have to agree that the financial commitment we have made is a pretty eloquent demonstration that we are confident about the future', he said.