{"id":874348,"date":"2026-09-08T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=874348"},"modified":"2026-09-08T10:52:03","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T08:52:03","slug":"24-year-old-mining-operation-being-shut-down-in-south-africa-which-could-take-1114-jobs-with-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/874348\/24-year-old-mining-operation-being-shut-down-in-south-africa-which-could-take-1114-jobs-with-it\/","title":{"rendered":"24-year-old mining operation being shut down in South Africa \u2013 which could take 1,114 jobs with it"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sibanye-Stillwater has begun a formal consultation process that could result in the closure or restructuring of its Kwezi shaft near Rustenburg, putting 1,114 jobs at risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mature platinum group metals (PGM) mining operation has been part of Sibanye-Stillwater\u2019s Rustenburg operations for approximately 24 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the operation has become increasingly difficult to sustain financially as its economically mineable reserves are depleted and production declines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sibanye-Stillwater announced that it would enter into consultations under Section 189A of the Labour Relations Act with organised labour and affected non-unionised employees regarding the proposed restructuring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The process could affect approximately 781 permanent employees and 333 contractor employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mining group stressed that no final decision has been made yet and that the consultation process will examine ways to avoid or reduce job losses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It will also look into ways to mitigate the impact on affected workers and explore alternatives to improve the shaft’s viability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kwezi is a mature underground PGM shaft within Sibanye-Stillwater\u2019s Rustenburg operation. Mining has now reached the limits of the approved mining licence area, meaning the operation is approaching the end of its economic life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company said it had spent several years trying to extend the life of the shaft through initiatives including reserve optimisation and adjustments to mining boundaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A proposed Kwezi Shallows project was also expected to provide access to additional shallow mineral resources, potentially adding reserves and supporting future production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the project failed to progress as planned due to stakeholder objections, appeals, and delays in securing the necessary approvals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe absence of these additional reserves has accelerated depletion of the remaining mining inventory and weakened the shaft’s sustainability,\u201d Sibanye-Stillwater said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The shaft’s financial performance has also been deteriorating. Kwezi recorded losses of approximately R208 million in 2024, followed by losses of R91 million in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consultations are still being finalised<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Higher PGM prices helped the operation return to positive margins during the first half of 2026. However, this improvement is not expected to last.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sibanye-Stillwater said Kwezi is forecast to return to losses during the second half of 2026 as production continues to decline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The shaft has also become a relatively small contributor to the group’s overall South African PGM operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the first half of 2026, Kwezi produced 20,658 4E ounces. This represented less than 3% of Sibanye-Stillwater’s total managed and attributable South African PGM production of 734,645 4E ounces for the period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following a detailed operational and financial review, the company concluded that it was necessary to begin formal consultations on the shaft’s future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Richard Stewart, Sibanye-Stillwater’s CEO, acknowledged the uncertainty the process would create for workers and their families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe acknowledge and are sensitive to the uncertainty that consultation processes create for employees and their families and remain deeply committed to engaging constructively throughout the process,\u201d Stewart said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUnfortunately, given the depletion of economically mineable reserves and the corresponding declining financial outlook, it is necessary to commence consultations regarding the future of Kwezi shaft.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Section 189A process does not automatically mean that all 1,114 affected employees will lose their jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South African labour law requires employers and employee representatives to consult on possible alternatives before retrenchments can be finalised.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sibanye-Stillwater has begun a formal consultation process that could result in the closure or restructuring of its Kwezi shaft near Rustenburg, putting 1,114 jobs at risk.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":874349,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"posted","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"2097248840587812866","_sma_facebook_post_id":"191437357620492_2199351007551965","_sma_instagram_post_id":"18115722476325756","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[26439,25323,14747],"class_list":["post-874348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-kwezi-shaft","tag-section-189a","tag-sibanye-stillwater"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/874348","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=874348"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/874348\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":874351,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/874348\/revisions\/874351"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/874349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=874348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=874348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=874348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}