Sibanye-Stillwater pulls plug on mines
Miner will spend R900m in laying off 7,000 workers
Sibanye-Stillwater will spend up to R900m laying off nearly 7,000 employees and contractors at two heavily unprofitable operations, shutting the Cooke mines entirely and putting Beatrix West on stringent operating conditions that could have it closed on short notice. While there had been unofficial expressions of interest from third parties who might want to buy the Cooke mines, there was nothing Sibanye was willing to talk about. It first wanted to complete the section 189 process of laying off employees at its loss-making mines so as not to overlap and confuse the issue, said spokesman James Wellsted. Analysts have roundly criticised the inclusion in Sibanye’s gold division of the Cooke underground mines. It came as part of a purchase of the Cooke assets from Gold One, the prime focus of the deal being the vast tailings dumps containing 7-million ounces of gold and 100-million pounds of uranium. “This acquisition never made any sense in our view — unless you were a staunch uranium...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.