Sibanye suspends production at shaft in Rustenburg following damage to infrastructure
Sibanye-Stillwater has suspended production from its Siphumelele shaft, in Rustenburg, South Africa, after some surface infrastructure suffered damage on February 29.
An ore collector bin attached to the shaft headgear sheared off and fell to ground, damaging a surface ore conveyor belt system.
There were no injuries as a result of the incident, however, the incapacitation of the ore collector bin and collapse of the conveyor system necessitated suspension of production, the company says.
Investigations into the cause of the incident are under way and the impact on yearly production from the Siphumelele shaft is being assessed.
Stakeholders, including the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy and representative unions, were informed, Sibanye reports.
The Siphumelele shaft was forecast to produce an average of about 4 500 oz of platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold (4E) a month this year, which accounts for about 3.5% of yearly production from Sibanye’s South African platinum group metals operations, excluding third-party processing.
