Michael Scherb

MICHAEL Scherb’s Appian Capital loomed large in the life of Sibanye-Stillwater, its former deal counterpart and now fierce legal foe. In November, a UK High Court judge found in favour of a damages claim launched by Appian after Sibanye-Stillwater cancelled a 2023 agreement to buy the Serrote and Santa Rita mines in Brazil for about $1bn. The matter now moves on to ‘quantum’, which could see Appian collect as much as $600m (including interest) if the High Court so rules. If compensated well it would provide some comfort for Appian after failing to sell the mines. 

A consortium consisting of Glencore, Volkswagen and Stellantis also passed on an opportunity to buy the deposits in 2023 after failing to raise finance, with Teck Resources considering an offer before that. Appian is however noteworthy for more conventional reasons: it bought a controlling stake in Namibia’s historic zinc miner, Rosh Pinah (via Trevali Mining Corp) in 2023 in order to restore the 54-year-old mine to its former glory. The mine’s expansion, to be completed by July 2026, is on track and will double output to about 75,000 tons of finished metal annually. The investment is potentially one of several African-focused mining investments to come from Appian. 

The company is looking for investment opportunities in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Senegal, with a focus on precious metals and certain base metals including copper, zinc and tin, especially where a preliminary economic assessment has been completed. Since 2016, Appian has brought 12 projects into production and over its existence had direct involvement in more than 580 mines and projects worldwide, including almost 100 from Africa.