JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The South African government is concerned about the various retrenchment announcements issued by mining companies in recent weeks, says Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane.

“We continue to urge all stakeholders to be more responsible in how these planned retrenchments are announced, as they impact on thousands of lives and livelihoods," he noted in a statement issued on Friday.

Zwane met with JSE- and NYSE-listed Sibanye CEO Neal Froneman and other company executives on Friday, after the precious metals miner on Thursday announced it may cut as many as 7 400 jobs as part of restructuring at its Beatrix West and Cooke gold operations.

Sibanye will enter into consultation with relevant stakeholders in terms of Section 189A of the Labour Relations Act (LRA) regarding the restructuring of these operations, Mining Weekly Online reported.

Friday’s meeting forms part of the Minister’s programme of engaging with mining right holders and other key stakeholders in the industry. 

Zwane underscored the Stakeholder Declaration, which was signed by stakeholders on August 31, 2015, stressing that, in terms of the declaration, “retrenchments are [done] only as a last resort, after all other options outlined in the declaration have been exhausted”.

He noted that, in this regard, the Minerals and Petroleum Board – appointed by the Minister in terms of Section 57 of the Act – is in the process of appointing independent experts to assess the orebodies at affected operations to ensure the sterilisation of minerals is avoided. 

"We want to, as far as possible, ensure that we can keep the operations open, if they can be viably mined by other operators," the Minister said. 

Zwane further reminded companies that, the Section 52 process, in terms of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA), and Section 189 process of the LRA should be adhered to, to avoid the creation of uncertainty in the industry.

Section 52 of the MPRDA states that the holder of a mining right remains responsible for the implementation of the processes provided in the LRA pertaining to the management of downscaling and retrenchment, until the Minister of Mineral Resources has issued a closure certificate to the holder concerned. 

Meanwhile, trade union Solidarity also expressed its shock and disappointment at the jobs that could be lost at Sibanye.

Solidarity noted in a statement on Friday that, although the official figure for the number of affected workers at Sibanye is about 7 400, there are also about 2 400 contractors, 365 employees that are not yet placed as part of an earlier scaling-down process, and about 50 people in management positions affected by the unrelated processes that comprise the separation of Sibanye’s South African operations and its US interests.

Solidarity general secretary Gideon du Plessis called on the various mining houses “to work together to see to it that any vacant posts, no matter at which workplace, be filled by employees who are facing possible retrenchment, even if the job is with a neighbouring employer”.

He suggested that it was in the interest of South Africa that the major retrenchment processes embarked upon by, among others, Sibanye and AngloGold Ashanti are averted by trade unions, employers and government as partners.