JOHANNESBURG, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Aquarius Platinum's planned sale of stakes in a small mine and project to aChinese consortium for $37 million had been terminated after itfailed to get South African regulatory approval, the mid-tierproducer said on Wednesday.
China has made few direct forays into platinum production inSouth Africa, which sits on close to 80 percent of the world'sknown reserves of the precious metal used for emissions-cappingcatalytic converters in automobiles.
"As at 14 October 2014 certain South African regulatoryapprovals had regrettably not yet been granted ... as a resultof which, the agreement terminated," the platinum producer saidin a statement.
The planned sale was in the company's interest in the BlueRidge mine, which has not been operational since 2011, and itsSheba project to a Chinese consortium led by the China NationalArts & Crafts (Group) Corporation.
Although China has so far not made many direct investmentsin the sector, a rare exception is Wesizwe Platinum,which is in the process of building a mine. Its main strategicshareholders comprise a Chinese consortium headed by mininggiant Jinchuan, which has a 45 percent stake in the group. (Reporting by Ed Stoddard, editing by Louise Heavens)