Lonrho Hired By Xstrata To Set Up Farming Cooperative

African conglomerate Lonrho PLC (LONR.LN) Monday said it has been hired by mining company Xstrata PLC (XTA.LN) to set up a farming cooperative near Xstrata's Thorncliff alloys mine in South Africa.

The project is part of an Xstrata initiative to establish sources of sustainable income for communities in the areas where Xstrata operates, Lonrho said.

Lonrho, which has operations ranging from farming to airlines to hotels and ports, said it has been hired to work with subsistence farmers in the Sekhukhune district near the mine to set up a commercially viable agricultural cooperative.

Its job includes designing infrastructure, irrigation and processing facilities.

Xstrata is funding the 42 million South African rand ($6.03 million) project and will provide an initial ZAR14.4 million immediately to set up a farm, packhouse and provide training to 300 farmers. Other financial terms weren't disclosed.

-By Jason Douglas, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9272; jason.douglas@dowjones.com

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