Risk factors for Sibanye-Stillwater are on the rise as hefty debt and the troubles it faces when it takes over Lonmin at the end of the year have been compounded by legal action in the US over safety issues at its gold mines in South Africa. US-based law firm Bernstein Liebhard said on Thursday it had filed a securities class action lawsuit on behalf of those who had acquired the securities of the company between April 7 last year and last Tuesday, a period in which the share price plummeted 61%. The law firm is accusing the company of misleading shareholders and failing to disclose information regarding mine safety. Sibanye acquired US-based palladium mine Stillwater last year, reducing its exposure to South Africa. But the deal left it with net debt of R23-billion, equivalent to the company's market capitalisation at the time.This year a high number of fatalities at the company's gold operations, resulting in 21 out of the 47 deaths in the industry this year, alarmed shareholders....
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