Sibanye-Stillwater boosts stake in DRDGOLD to 50%

South African gold producer Sibanye-Stillwater has exercised an option to acquire an additional 12% interest in DRDGOLD, bringing its total stake to 50.1%, the smaller miner announced on Friday.

The transaction marks the single largest investment ever made by an individual shareholder in DRDGOLD, its chief executive Niel Pretorius said in a statement.

DRDGOLD acquired the gold assets of Sibanye-Stillwater's West Rand tailings retreatment project in July 2018 in exchange for a 38.1% stake in the smaller firm and a 24-month option to acquire an additional 12%.

Pretorius said the proceeds of Sibanye's stake purchase would go "a long way" to funding the early-stage development of phase 2 of the tailings retreatment project.

(Reporting by Helen Reid; Editing by Jan Harvey)