The closure of two South African gold shafts and halting of a Zimbabwean platinum group metals (PGM) project has reduced Sibanye-Stillwater’s gold and PGM minable resources although the company has reported an increase in its lithium reserves at Keliber in Finland.
Sibanye-Stillwater has been engaging workers’ unions regarding rationalisation of its gold and PGM mining operations in South Africa. The cessation of production at Kloof 4 and Beatrix shafts has reduced its gold mineral resources by 23% to 41.2 million ounces while the available reserves of the precious metal have also fallen by 15.7% to 10.9 million ounces.
“The change in mineral resources can mainly be attributed to the closure of Kloof 4 Shaft, the exclusion of the below infrastructure EBA area at Kloof 7 Shaft due to having no reasonable prospect for eventual economic extraction post the closure of Kloof 4 Shaft and the cessation of Beatrix 4 Shaft, offset by minor additions elsewhere,” the company said.
There have also been further adjustments at Driefontein and Kloof operations due to area exclusions and changes in the resource base.
In 2022, Sibanye-Stillwater produced 620 541 ounces of gold at an all in sustaining cost of $2 410 (R46 521) per ounce and had 10.3 million ounces in mineral reserves of the sought-after metal.
With platinum prices persistently low, and Sibanye-Stillwater retrenching workers from its South African PGM operations, the company has recorded a 4.4% increase in 2E PGM mineral resources at 7.8 million ounces for its US PGM operations although the mineral reserves base for this has remained unchanged at 26.3 million ounces.
In South Africa, Sibanye-Stillwater’s 4E PGM mineral resources are up 3.1% at 182.8 million ounces although the mineral reserves are down a massive 10.4% at 28.1 million ounces. The reduction in PGM reserves for the South Africa operations have largely been driven by depletion and the exclusion of the North Hill Project at Mimosa mine in Zimbabwe, which accounts for 1.5 million ounces.
“The reduction in mineral reserves (for South Africa PGM) can mainly be ascribed to the exclusion of the Mimosa North Hill project due to commercial considerations, partially offset by the gain from the acquisition of the additional 50% in the Kroondal operation,”said Sibanye-Stillwater.
It was not immediately clear if the exclusion of Mimosa from Sibanye-Stillwater’s PGM reserves for South Africa would translate to job losses at the Zimbabwean operation.
Despite the decline in PGM reserves and lowering of the group’s gold reserves and resource base, Sibanye-Stillwater has recorded a 55.1% increase in attributable lithium mineral resources to 702 000 tons made up of lithium carbonate equivalent.
This has been attributed to “successful exploration activities at the Keliber project in Finland” as well as to an updated mineral resource estimate at the Rhyolite Ridge project in Nevada.
The company’s zinc mineral resources and reserves of 3 002 million and 1 726 million lb are also massively up by 257% and 287% respectively, driven by the 100% acquisition of New Century Resources Ltd.
Sibanye-Stillwater’s CEO, Neal Froneman, said yesterday: "In line with our strategy, we have expanded and diversified our asset portfolio across five continents. The substantial mineral resources and reserves the group holds, serve as the foundation for long-term production of a varied mix of metals and minerals.”
He added that although this was helpful in mitigating risk through diversification, it also supported Sibanye-Stillwater’s strategy of producing green metals that would underpin future energy solutions.
“The 55.1% increase in attributable lithium mineral resources, and the addition of the Mt Lyell copper mineral resources, are particularly pleasing."
There was, however, a 39.4% decline in Sibanye-Stillwater’s copper mineral resource at 8 163 million lb. The exercise of the Mt Lyell option, obtained via the acquisition of NCR, had nonetheless added 1 609 million lb of contained copper.
Sibanye-Stillwater said its declared mineral resources and reserves were the outcome of a detailed annual operational and life of mine planning process. It added that the new numbers indicated the considerable underlying mineral assets base which supports sustainable long-life production for the company.
BUSINESS REPORT