Mining
Thursday, September 14th, 2023 6:14 am EDT
Key Points
- Sibanye-Stillwater is negotiating with workers and other stakeholders about a potential restructuring of its Kloof 4 gold shaft in South Africa.
- The restructuring is necessary due to ongoing losses at the shaft, caused by productivity issues, operational constraints, and seismicity.
- Sibanye-Stillwater says it will engage with all relevant stakeholders in an effort to avoid job losses, but the restructuring could potentially affect 2,389 employees and 581 contractors.
Negotiations with workers and other stakeholders come after numerous unsuccessful attempts to address productivity issues and other operational constraints at Kloof 4 shaft. These included seismicity and cooling constraints, associated with the chilled water reticulation circuit, which together have contributed to sustained losses even at recent high gold prices, the South African miner said.
“We will engage with all relevant stakeholders in an effort to avoid job losses,” executive vice president Richard Cox said in the statement.
The parties will “consider measures to avoid and mitigate possible retrenchments and seek alternatives to the potential cessation or downscaling of operations,” Sibanye said.
Almost 10,500 people work at the Kloof mine, according to the company’s website, but possible changes at the operation would only affect 2,389 employees and 581 contractors.
Kloof 4 shaft produces more than 115,000 ounces of gold a year.
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