The closure of Sibanye-Stillwater conventional business units has been averted.
Sibanye-Stillwater previously indicated that between 200 000 oz/y and 300 000 oz/y of platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold, or 4E platinum-group metals (PGMs), capacity could be cut, should some conventional shafts in the Rustenburg area remain unprofitable.
At the time, the company said it would make a final decision on the viability of these conventional business units after September.
“The Southern African region’s PGM operations delivered solid operational results in 2017, and this prompted an upward revision to our 2017 production forecast and a downward revision to guided costs,” the company said in a statement last week.
In addition, realisation of cost and operational synergies has exceeded expectations and has been significantly ahead of initial forecasts.
Benefits of about R550-million of the initially identified R800-million in annual synergies have already been achieved, with forecast annualised benefits by the end of this year of about R1-billion.
“I am very pleased with the outcome of the review, which has been driven by the results of the efforts of our colleagues in the Rustenburg region. While we anticipate further opportunities to reduce costs and unlock operational synergies over time, the South African PGM operations are now well positioned to benefit from firmer PGM prices,” Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman said.