SIBANIE-Stillwater has decided to continue mining operations at its Beatrix 1 shaft in South Africa’s Free State province on the condition that the company reports no net losses on average over the past three months beginning June 1.
The group has also decided to consolidate its South African gold and platinum group metals (PGM) operations into “a single regional operating structure with functional support from a streamlined service structure”. Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman told Miningmx in September last year The group could consolidate service functions for its South African PGM and gold mines.
“We have restructured the Southern African region to adapt to the reduced operating footprint following the necessary operational restructuring for greater regional sustainability and profitability and we are well positioned for continued delivery of shared value,” he said in an announcement today.
This is a follow-up to the outcome of the consultations under Article 189 announced in April by the group over a proposed restructuring of its gold operations in South Africa, which could impact 3,107 employees and 915 contractors.
According to an announcement from Sibanye-Stillwater, the Beatrix 1 shaft will be closed if this profit target is not maintained, but the closure would be “subject to certain conditions”. The Beatrix 1 shaft currently employs 422 employees and 100 contractors.
According to Sibanye-Stillwater, the overall outcome of the restructuring consultation was that 629 employees took advantage of voluntary redundancy or early retirement schemes; 116 employees left through natural attrition and 448 were redeployed.
Another 111 workers were dismissed because “they could not be accommodated in the agreed avoidance measures”, while another 1,130 contractors were affected.
In an analysis of the restructuring measures taken by the group since January last year, Sibanye-Stillwater said the total number of employees and contractors in the Southern Africa region has fallen from approximately 81,500 at the end of 2022 to just over 70,000 currently.
Despite this significant 14% workforce reduction, only 966 of the 11,500 affected employees and contractors were made redundant, the company said.
Miningmx
www.miningmx.com
