Sibanye-Stillwater warns US mine may close if workers oppose plan

SIBANYE-Stillwater CEO Richard Stewart warned on Wednesday his company would have no option but to shut the 284,000 ounce a year Stillwater mine if a strike launched by employees prevented the company from implementing a new wage agreement.In wage negotiations currently underway covering employees at the Stillwater East mine, employees are being asked to accept a team-based incentive system rather than the individual miner approach of the past 20 years.Charles Carter, head of Sibanye-Stillwater’s international operations, said on Tuesday during the group’s interim results presentation that employees were resistant to change.“So, for these operations, this is make or break for the future,” Carter said. “Right now, to be blunt, they don’t love change, so there’s a lot of work going into that.”Sibanye-Stillwater said on Wednesday its US PGM operations were cash negative in the first half of the year.Production from Stillwater in Sibanye-Stillwater’s 2025 financial year fell to 284,069 PGM oz from 425,842 oz in the previous year, reflecting a restructuring after Stillwater West was placed on care and maintenance in late 2024.The United Steelworkers notified Sibanye on Tuesday that employees at Stillwater East and the Columbus metallurgical facility would begin strike action at 7am on Thursday. East Boulder operates under a separate agreement and is not affected.Sibanye has been negotiating with the union for more than four months.$1,000/oz targetThe proposed changes form part of a wider mechanisation and productivity programme aimed at cutting all-in sustaining costs from about $1,500 per two-element ounce to around $1,000/oz over two to three years.“What we have at Stillwater is a legacy scheme that’s been in place for 20 years,” Carter said at the results presentation.“It’s focused on miners … and they’re heavily incentivised on volumetric numbers. It’s not about the quality of the break, and it’s not about blast cycle time – it’s about volume.”Sibanye wants to replace this with a team-based system covering the different stages of mining.“That fully incentivised, team-based approach is new for that operation,” Carter said.The programme also includes mechanised bolters and a shift from two-yard to four-yard loaders, which Carter said would enable higher productivity. But he stressed that changing the incentive system was central to reaching the $1,000/oz cost target.Carter said he understood why miners were reluctant to abandon the existing system. They were highly skilled and had worked this way for much of their careers.“From their perspective, why change anything? That’s the fundamental issue you have to navigate in a negotiation,” he said.Carter also stressed that Sibanye was not hostile towards the United Steelworkers.“I have a very high regard for the United Steelworkers as a union in the US,” he said.Carter said he had spent time with the union’s international leadership explaining why Sibanye believed the changes were necessary.“At a national executive level, I think they get it. I think we still have work to do with our own workforce.”He said the outcome could determine whether the ore bodies supported another 40 years of mining or only four, as Sibanye would not commit significant capital unless it could change the cost structure.“So does this keep me awake at night right now? Absolutely,” Carter said. “But the road map is clear, the plan is sound, and the leadership team is fully behind it.”He said negotiations were difficult because Sibanye was seeking to change the underlying model rather than simply make incremental additions to the existing agreement.Following the strike notice, Stewart warned that lower operating costs were essential to securing the future of the US operations and justifying further investment.“If that plan cannot be implemented and the operations remain unsustainable, there may ultimately be no viable basis for the continued operation,” he said.The US PGM operations produced 137,930 ounces in the six months to end-June, with Stillwater East contributing 76,334oz, or about 55%, and East Boulder 61,595oz.The post Sibanye-Stillwater warns US mine may close if workers oppose plan appeared first on Miningmx.Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com