Sibanye-Stillwater assumes full ownership of Kroondal earlier than expected and concludes 5-year wage agreement 

Rustenburg – On Wednesday 1 November 2023, Sibanye-Stillwater announced that the transaction entered into between Rustenburg Platinum Mines Limited (RPM) a subsidiary of Anglo American Platinum Limited (AAP), and Sibanye-Stillwater’s subsidiary, Sibanye Rustenburg Platinum Mines Limited (Rustenburg operation) as announced on 31 January 2022, has been brought forward, resulting in the Rustenburg operation acquiring RPM’s 50% share in the Kroondal pool and share agreement (Kroondal PSA) and the Group assuming full ownership of the low cost, mechanised Kroondal operation, effective 1 November 2023.  

Sibanye-Stillwater chief executive officer, Neal Froneman, commented: “Concluding the transaction earlier enables effective consolidation of these operations under a single owner. By extending the operating life of the Kroondal operation, which as a standalone operation was constrained by the existing PSA agreement. We are now able to realise the true potential of our adjacent resources by utilising the mechanised and low-cost Kroondal operation to mine across the boundary with the Rustenburg operation. This will accelerate the extraction of more remote parts of the Rustenburg operation orebody, expected to sustain employment for thousands of employees until 2029 and ensure the creation of significant shared value for all stakeholders in the region”.
Sibanye-Stillwater, press release extracts, 1 November 2023. 

Furthermore, on Monday 6 November 2023, Sibanye-Stillwater advised that it had concluded a five-year wage agreement with all representative unions, comprising the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) and the National Union of Mineworkers (the NUM) in respect of annual wages and benefits for employees at the Kroondal PGM operations.

The five-year wage agreement is similar to the terms and increases reached at the Group’s Rustenburg and Marikana operations during 2022. The agreement is inflation-linked, with category 4-8 employees receiving an increase of a minimum of 6% in each of the five-years of the agreement. 
Miners, artisans, and officials will receive an increase of 6% in each year of the five-year agreement. The estimated average increase in the total wage bill, including all benefits, over the five-year period is approximately 6.4% per annum.

Sibanye-Stillwater chief executive officer, Neal Froneman, commented: “We are pleased to have concluded this five-year inflation-linked wage agreement, which follows the agreements we reached at our Rustenburg and Marikana operations in 2022, in a constructive manner and without any disruption. The agreement secures wage stability in the operations which will benefit all stakeholders”. 
Sibanye-Stillwater, press release, 6 November 2023.