Xstrata swoops on Eland Platinum for $1bn

Xstrata on Tuesday made its most significant push into platinum with the $1bn purchase of South Africa’s Eland Platinum Holdings but damped expectations that a larger deal was on the way. The UK-based mining group, which also unveiled record first-half profits on Tuesday, has grown rapidly over six years through deals such as last year’s $20bn takeover of Falconbridge of Canada. The Eland purchase will give Xstrata a controlling stake in the Elandsfontein platinum project, due to start production in December and yield more than 176,000 ounces of platinum in its first year.