Unlike many BEE deals, in which black investors acquire their stakes via loans, Northam's investors funded their side of the deal by issuing preference shares for cash to two of Northam's own shareholders. Northam raised black ownership in the company to over 35 percent in a 6.6 billion rand ($509 million) deal that also injected 4.6 billion rand of cash into its balance sheet. The South African mining industry, still reeling from the longest ever platinum strike last year, is contending with rising costs and falling metal prices.