Sibanye-Stillwater has been approached by buyers interested in its Beatrix West and Cooke operations, which it is planning to put on care and maintenance with a potential loss of 7,400 jobs. But Sibanye-Stillwater is not a seller, CEO Neal Froneman said last week. "We still see value in [the businesses] at a different gold and uranium price," he said. "We know what they are worth." Froneman — as those who have tracked his career in the past decade will know — would rather acquire businesses than sell them. The latest acquisition, Sibanye’s purchase of US platinum group metals (PGM) producer Stillwater, follows a series of deals that include Rustenburg and Aquarius platinum mines and Cooke and Burnstone gold mines in SA. Froneman would like to acquire more gold assets.He says the acquisition gives Sibanye-Stillwater, at 45% platinum and 48% palladium, a more favourable mix of the two metals than its peer group, which is an advantage, given palladium’s recent surge to 16-year highs. E...

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