JOHANNESBURG - SIBANYE-STILLWATER, the world’s leading platinum group metals (PGM) producer, employs 13.3 percent female employees as at the end of December 2021, up marginally from 12.71 percent a year earlier, according to its 2020 integrated annual report released yesterday.
Sibanye, which has more than 84 775 permanent and contract employees, said it aimed to improve women representation to 30 percent by 2025 and had launched the “Women-in-Mining” programme last year with the aim to facilitate gender diversity.
The group said it had made progress in the diversity of its board after female board members increased to 30 percent in January this year from 25 percent in 2020 and 18 percent in 2019.
The board’s diversity was boosted following the appointment of two female independent non executive directors, Sindi Zilwa and Elaine Dorward-King. Zilwa was appointed in January while Dorward-King was appointed in March 2020.
“The appointment of Elaine and Sindi also increases the gender diversity at board level, which were raised in 2019,” said the annual report.
Sibanye paid R23.8 billion in wages and slides during 2020 compared with R21.1bn in 2019, it said in its 2020 integrated annual report. It said it had no strikes at its operations after recovering from the brutal five month strike at its gold operations in 2018/2019.
Sibanye said historically union rivalry at the South African operations, particularly between the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) and the National Union of Mineworkers (Num), had posed a risk to the business. Sibanye said much progress had been made over the years to foster a culture of multi-lateralism and tolerance at its operations.
“In Rustenburg and Kroondal operations where Amcu and Num co-exist side by side the risk is lower as they see each other as opponents and not enemies. At Marikana, Amcu enjoys more than an 80 percent majority and is the only recognised union. Currently the risk is low for union rivalry, but when that status quo is threatened, proper risk evaluation and assessment will be undertaken, and appropriate mitigation measures put in place accordingly,” said Sibanye. In February it approved a R6.3bn capital investment programme that will create 7 000 jobs.
The three strategic capital projects are the development K4 and Klipfontein projects at the South African PGM operations and the resumption of capital development and equipping of the Burnstone gold project.
“Approximately 7 000 jobs will be created and sustained over the life of the projects, with significant financial benefits likely to accrue to local communities and regional and national government through local procurement, taxation and foreign exchange,” said Sibanye. The group took a step to expand into the battery metal space through the acquisition of a 30 percent shareholding in Finnish-based Keliber Oy, which is developing the Keliber project, a 9.3 million tonne reserve lithium project located in the Kaustinen region of Finland.
“The project is anticipated to come into production in 2024. Lithium is viewed as one of the core metals to benefit from the significant growth forecast for the electric vehicle sector. Our investment in Keliber represents a strategic partnership of complementary skills” said the group.
Sibanye’s share price retreated 2.66 percent to close at R69.76 on the JSE yesterday.
BUSINESS REPORT