JSE- and NYSE-listed Sibanye-Stillwater has announced it will contribute about R52-million in sponsorship over ten years to support and enhance the University of the Witwatersrand's (Wits') Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment (FEBE).

The precious metals miner on August 19 signed a memorandum of understanding with the university.

The sponsorship will also see the bridge that extends over the M1 freeway, in Johannesburg, that links Wits’ Braamfontein East and West campuses refurbished.

The bridge will subsequently be renamed the Wits Sibanye-Stillwater Infinity Bridge.

The remainder of sponsorship funds will be used in the FEBE’s endowment fund and for scholarships for disadvantaged students, among other faculty projects to ensure a pipeline of young and diverse talent.

The unveiling of the bridge is planned for October 2022 at the culmination of the Wits Centenary Campaign and its one-hundredth birthday month.

“For some time now, Wits has walked the research and development path with Sibanye. A natural extension of this relationship is the refurbishment and renaming of the Wits Sibanye-Stillwater Infinity Bridge, which represents a formal investment in the sustainability of Wits and the faculty.

“As the bridge has stood for more than 30 years, renewal in every respect is absolutely timely. The bridge epitomises the strength of academic and industry partnerships towards mutually beneficial support and service. The bridge is not only a physical manifestation of our enduring relationship but now ensures strong support for knowledge-generation and high-level skills development as well as ‘infinite’ sustainability of the system that delivers this,” comments Wits vice-chancellor and principal Professor Zeblon Vilakazi.

Sibanye has had a long-standing partnership with Wits which has since 2014 enabled learners from different backgrounds to pursue careers in mining, finance, human resources and science, technology, engineering and maths fields.