Implats Signs Strategic Partnership Agreement

Implats Signs Strategic Partnership Agreement                                   
IMPALA PLATINUM HOLDINGS LIMITED                                                
(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)                                  
(Registration number 1957/001979/06)                                            
Share code: IMP & ISIN: ZAE000083648                                            
ADR code: IMPUY & LSE share code: IPLA                                          
("Implats")                                                                     
AFRICAN PLATINUM PLC                                                            
("Afplats")                                                                     
(Incorporated in the United Kingdom)                                            
(Registration number 4422435)                                                   
LSE Share code: APP & ISIN: GB0031664823                                        
IMPLATS SIGNS STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT WITH AFPLATS TO PARTICIPATE IN    
THE GREATER LEEUWKOP PROJECT                                                    
Impala Platinum Holdings Limited (Implats) and African Platinum plc (Afplats)   
have signed a binding Transaction Framework Agreement (TFA), in terms of        
which Implats will acquire 29.9% of Afplats` South African assets.              
The TFA details the basis on which Implats will subscribe for this equity and   
assist Afplats in developing these assets.  Implats will be granted certain     
rights / protections commensurate with its investment.  A definitive            
agreement is currently being drafted with the aim to have concluded the         
transaction in the first quarter of 2007, subject to all required               
regulatory approvals being granted, thereby allowing immediate development      
of the Leeuwkop Project to commence.                                            
Under the terms of the TFA, Afplats will transfer its South African             
subsidiaries, Afplats (SA), Imbasa Platinum and Inkosi Platinum into Newco,     
a newly formed South African incorporated company held 100% by Afplats.         
Implats will subscribe for an effective 29.9% of Newco for a consideration      
of ZAR 1.068 billion and will have an option, subject to Afplats                
shareholder approval which will be sought in early 2007, to convert its         
shareholding in Newco into Afplats equity in the future should Implats so       
wish.                                                                           
The subscription money acquired from this transaction will be used to fund      
Afplats` ZAR 1 billion commitment to the Leeuwkop Project in terms of the       
recently signed agreement with their Black Economic Empowerment partners,       
the Bakwena Ba-Mogopa Traditional Community.                                    
The cash injected from the proposed transaction will provide funding for the    
first two and a half years of the project`s development. This will allow        
the remaining project funding to be secured at a lower cost once the            
project has been significantly de-risked and mining has commenced.              
Implats` technical expertise at the operational level will ensure that the      
project is successfully and timeously developed in accordance with the          
Bankable Feasibility Study parameters.                                          
Leeuwkop is located on the western limb of the Bushveld Complex in the North    
West province of South Africa near the town of Brits. Both the Merensky and     
the UG2 Reefs are found on the property, but the initial focus of the new       
mine will be the UG2 Reef.  In respect of the UG2 Reef only, resources          
total 60.2 million ounces (4E).  The initial project, which focuses on the      
Leeuwkop property contains reserves of 6.9 million ounces (4E), which are       
included in the above resources.                                                
The initial life of mine is forecast at 20 years at an underground production   
rate of 3 million run-of-mine tonnes a year at a head grade of 3.95 g/t.        
The underground mine will be accessed via a twin vertical shaft system and      
mining operations will be fully mechanised.  At full production, which is       
forecast to be achieved during 2010, the mine will produce in the region of     
300,000 ounces (4E) in concentrate per annum.  Concentrate will be              
transported to Impala Platinum`s Mineral Processes in Rustenburg in terms       
of the previously signed 10 year offtake agreement with Impala Refining         
Services (IRS).                                                                 
Total development capital expenditure is estimated, in today`s money, to be     
ZAR 2.3 billion of which R1 billion is sourced from the Implats capital         
injection.                                                                      
Implats is one of the world`s largest producers of PGMs, and expects to         
produce in excess of 2 million ounces of platinum this year. The company        
has operations in South Africa and Zimbabwe and exploration projects in         
South Africa, Zimbabwe, North America and Madagascar. Implats employs close     
on 31,500 people. The company is listed on the JSE and the LSE and trades       
as a sponsored level 1 ADR in the United States.                                
Afplats is an exploration and development business focused on the platinum      
group metals trading on the Alternative Investment Market of the London         
Stock Exchange (ticker symbol APP).  Afplats has three South African            
subsidiary companies, Afplats (Pty) Ltd, Imbasa Platinum (Pty) Ltd and          
Inkosi Platinum (Pty) Ltd.  The company`s primary asset is Afplats (Pty)        
Ltd, the entity which holds the prospecting permit to the Leeuwkop Project      
on the western limb of South Africa`s Bushveld Complex.                         
For further information, please contact                                         
Implats                  Afplats                                                
David Brown              Roy Pitchford                                          
+27 11 731 9042          +27 11 467 1858                                        
investor@implats.co.za   info@afplats.com                                       
Brenda Berlin            Russell Lamming                                        
+27 11 731 9023          +27 (11) 467 1858                                      
11 December 2006                                                                
Date: 11/12/2006 09:00:01 Supplied by www.sharenet.co.za                     
Produced by the JSE SENS Department.