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Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer discusses South Africa’s potential in creating a new industry through energy storage; Anglo American's sustainability targets; and Kumba Iron Ore's 6th fatality-free year and increased export sales.

In its sixth year of fatality-free production, Anglo American group's iron-ore mining company Kumba Iron Ore averaged prices considerably above the global benchmark in the six months to June 30, when it also increased export sales.

The average realised free-on-board wet metric tonne (wmt) export price for the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed company’s ore was a 15%-higher $136/wmt – or $138 per dry metric tonne (dmt).

Kumba’s 2%-higher first-half export sales of 19.7-million tonnes reflected a 7%-higher second-quarter boost.

A challenged first quarter was the main cause of total half-year production falling by 13% to 17.8-million tonnes.

Kumba's operational performance is improving in the face of operational and mining cost inflation headwinds.

Sishen has stabilised production following a tough, heavy-rainfall start to the year and a turnaround in performance throughout the rest of the year is expected at Kolomela, which experienced second-quarter safety intervention and equipment reliability challenges.

“We reiterate our full-year production and sales guidance of 38 to 40 wet metric tonnes and increase Kolomela's unit cost guidance to R420 to R440 per tonne, while maintaining Sishen's unit cost guidance of R500 to R530 per tonne,” Kumba CE Mpumi Zikalala stated in a release to Mining Weekly.

"The first half performance has demonstrated the need for us to continue to focus on operational excellence to enhance productivity and cost efficiency, and ensure that we secure the full value of our products in the market to deliver sustainable value to our stakeholders," Zikalala added.

The iron-ore market also came under pressure in the second quarter, driven by the extended Covid-19 lockdown in China and weaker global economic prospects as the inflationary effects of the pandemic were compounded by the conflict in Ukraine.

Within that context, Kumba’s average prices were well above the $118/wmt, or $120/dmt, benchmark prices.

Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed platinum group metals (PGMs) mining and marketing company Anglo American Platinum has maintained its metal-in-concentrate PGMs guidance, while also advising of a potential halving of half-year earnings in the six months to June 30.

Guided for 2022 are 3.9-million to 4.3 million metal-in-concentrate PGM ounces and 4-million to 4.4-million refined PGM ounces, as shareholders face an expected headline earnings and basic earnings decline of between 40% and 50% with release of half-year results on Monday.

In the face of inflationary pressures, Anglo Platinum has also reiterated its R14 000/PGM oz to R15 000/PGM oz 2022 unit cost guidance, as half-year earnings head well below the ACP-rebuild-boosted R46.4-billion at between R23-billion and R28-billion.

In addition, 2022's half-year prices were considerably lower than last year's record high prices in the first six months, which resulted in a 14% decrease in the three element (3E) basket price for platinum, palladium and rhodium in the six months to June 30 this year.

SECOND-QUARTER OUTPUT

Total second-quarter (Q2) production, expressed as five element plus gold metal-in-concentrate – which takes in platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium and ruthenium – fell by 2% to 1 031 500 oz in the three months to June 30.

PGMs production from own-managed mines fell by 2% to 586 700 oz, own refined PGMs production, excluding tolling, fell by 8% to 1 240 600 oz, and PGM sales volumes from production, excluding sales from trading, fell by 16% to 1 206 200 oz.

“Tragically, and unacceptably, we lost two of our colleagues during the quarter,” said Anglo American Platinum CEO Natascha Viljoen.

Boitshepo ‘Julian’ Sesinyi died after sustaining a serious spinal injury in a slip-and-fall incident at the ACP processing facility, and Phasoana Rheina Malatji, a construction crew member and employee of Redpath, was fatally injured after being struck by an underground mining vehicle tyre that was being moved.

“We continue to work extremely hard at all operations to ensure every colleague goes home safely every day,” Viljoen stated in a release to Mining Weekly.

Second-quarter total-recordable-case-injury-frequency rate improved by 11% to 2.60 per million hours worked.

“Despite total PGMs production being marginally lower in Q2 2022 against Q2 2021, I’m pleased with the improved stability across the operations as we build maturity in our operating model and asset reliability.

While Mogalakwena mining through a low-grade area in line with the mine plan resulted in lower mined production, Mototolo and Unki mines both had a strong production performance, as both operations completed the integration of the concentrator debottlenecking projects.

Amandelbult was able to keep production relatively flat, despite the infrastructure closures at the end of 2021, and all operations saw an improvement in production over Q1 2022 owing to greater operational stability.

“We continue to work on the building blocks of our strategy to ensure we deliver sustainable value creation. This is evident in the signing of a five-year wage agreement, a first for the company and achieved without any industrial action.

“We also continue to make progress with our plans to lead the industry in sustainability, not least through the launch of our nuGen™ hydrogen-powered haul truck at Mogalakwena in early May, offering the potential for a step-change reduction in our site emissions,” said Viljoen.

Diversified mining and marketing company Anglo American is progressing towards its stretching sustainability targets on all fronts while partnering to accelerate the deployment of hydrogen-powered haul truck technology across the mining industry and other transport applications.

This was highlighted by Anglo American CEO Duncan Wanblad on Thursday, when the company reported a 21% decrease in Chile copper production to 133 900 t on planned lower grades and lower water availability and cited operational momentum and asset resilience as positioning it well for a stronger second half of the year.

The London- and Johannesburg-listed company’s production report for the second quarter (Q2) to June 30 retained full-year copper production guidance at 660 000 t to 750 000 t, along with unit cost guidance remaining at 147c/lb.

Full-year guidance for platinum-group metals and iron-ore also remain unchanged, with diamond guidance up and steelmaking coal guidance falling by two-million tonnes to between 15-million tonnes and 17-million tonnes on higher unit costs of $110/t, up from $105/t.

On the steelmaking coal front, the average realised half-year price for hard coking coal was $407/t, compared with an index price of $467/t, with the price realisation decreasing on a lower contribution of premium hard coking coal following the closure of the Grasstree operation.

Overall Q2 production was down 9% on the same quarter in 2021 on lower grades and water availability in copper in Chile, planned maintenance at the Minas-Rio iron-ore operation in Brazil, and Aquila’s longwall ramp-up in Australia.

Production from Los Bronces decreased by 24% to 64 300 t on lower ore processed owing to the impact of expected low water availability.

At Collahuasi, attributable production decreased by 16% to 62 100 t and production from El Soldado fell 32% to 7 500 t, both on planned lower grades.

Chile's central zone continues to face severe drought conditions, with the two years to June being the driest since records began, and the outlook remaining very dry. Various management initiatives to improve water efficiency and secure alternative sources of water continue.

The average realised price of copper in the half year was 401c/lb, including 145 900 t provisionally priced on June 30 at an average of 374 c/lb.

First copper concentrate from Quellaveco in Peru, achieved at the start of the third quarter, marked a milestone ahead of receiving final regulatory clearance for commercial operations to begin. Once fully operational, Quellaveco is expected to add around 10% to group copper output.

Full-year rough diamond production guidance of 32-million carats to 34-million carats is two-million carats up on the previous 30-million carats to 33-million carats on robust demand and strong operational performance. Unchanged is the unit cost guidance of $65/ct against a 58%-higher consolidated average Q2 realised price of $213/ct.

Anglo reiterated its commitment to sustainably delivering many of the raw materials critical to the decarbonisation of global energy and transport systems.

“We are progressing towards our stretching sustainability targets on all fronts,” Wanblad stated in a release to Mining Weekly.

During the quarter, Anglo unveiled the world's largest hydrogen-powered haul truck as part of its nuGenTM zero emission haulage solution, a step towards carbon neutrality across operations by 2040.

The agreement to combine nuGenTM with engineering partner First Mode is designed, Wanblad said, to “accelerate the commercialisation and deployment of this technology across the mining industry and other transport applications".

South Africa achieved a record six months without a mining fatality caused by a fall-of-ground (Fog) incidents in its gold and platinum mines, industry body Minerals Council South Africa reports.

Building on the record performance in the first three months of the year, when one person was killed in a Fog incident in the coal sector, the leadership initiatives and the implementation of strategies, leading practices and the Minerals Council-led Fog Action Plan to mitigate incidents have resulted in no fatalities in the gold and platinum mines for the first six months of the year, the council says.

The entire industry was Fog-fatality-free in the second quarter of the year.

This is significant, because gold and platinum mines have not had a Fog-fatality-free first six months of the year in the history of South African mining, says Minerals Council safety head Dr Sizwe Phakathi.

There were 11 Fog fatalities by the end of June last year.

In the past three years, including the industry’s record safety performance in 2019, Fog fatalities accounted for at least 20 deaths in each of those three years.

“The Minerals Council commends all stakeholders, including mining companies, unions, employees, mine professional associations, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, suppliers, research institutions, the Mine Health and Safety Council and the Mining Qualifications Authority, who have all worked tirelessly and collaboratively to ensure every mine employee can return from work unharmed,” says Phakathi.

The Minerals Council board held a special meeting in December 2021 to agree on, and urgently implement, eight interventions to halt two years of regression in safety performances in the mining industry and then to reverse the trend.

In 2020 and 2021, the industry reported 60 and 74 fatalities, respectively, compared with the all-time low of 51 in 2019.

According to data available to the Minerals Council, 23 employees have died in the year to July 18 compared with 29 in the same period a year earlier, marking a 21% reduction and the best rate of reduction in fatalities in the first six months of a year, the council highlights.

“We are undertaking a comprehensive review to understand what went well and what we can learn from the past six months. The review will be done by the Minerals Council in collaboration with other stakeholders,” informs Phakathi.

The results of the review will be unveiled during the National Day of Health and Safety in Mining on August 3.

South Africa’s 5 000 MW renewable energy storage requirement is seen as providing the critical mass for the creation of a new local energy storage industry that will have the potential to export into the growing global market for energy storage solutions.

A new own-value-chain local industry is feasible owing to South Africa’s resource base, processing infrastructure and high upcoming local demand.

That is the view of Bushveld Minerals CEO Fortune Mojapelo, who spoke to Mining Weekly in a Zoom interview. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

The head of the London Aim-listed Bushveld sees a mix of short- and long-duration energy storage viably meeting the 5 000-MW-in-three-years challenge set by the National Planning Commission – and highlights vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) as being ideal for long-duration electricity storage.

Long-duration batteries support the integration of renewable energy into electricity grids and Mojapelo sees upcoming energy storage demand as providing a generational opportunity that South Africa should not miss.

On energy storage being the flexible renewable energy enabler, he notes that sun shines at its brightest during off-peak periods “and, ideally, you want to be storing that energy and using it during peak periods when you're running those diesel generators, which are quite expensive.

“Similarly, if you look at wind generation, its peak generation capacity is during off-peak windows from a demand perspective.

“Pair that with long-duration energy storage, and you can deploy this power flexibly into the time zones when you need it the most.

“Overall, by doing that, you're improving the efficiency of the grid and enhancing the contribution of renewable energy to the grid,” Mojapelo points out.

To meet emerging demand, Bushveld has positioned itself for broad-based involvement through its far-reaching vertical integration model, with its downstream business including the construction of an electrolyte manufacturing plant in East London, the development of a hybrid minigrid at its Vametco vanadium processing plant in Brits, and investment into VRFB manufacturing. The company also has the primary vanadium-processing Vanchem facility in Mpumalanga.

The minigrid will use locally mined and beneficiated vanadium, demonstrating how vanadium battery energy solutions can provide more local value for South Africa than any other storage technology and thus underpin a just energy transition in South Africa. The project's total cost is estimated at R113-million ($7.1-million).

The minigrid project is serving as a renewable energy, VRFB reference site.

Mining Weekly: What is the value of long-duration vanadium redox flow battery technology?

Mojapelo: The power system has different needs that can be provided by energy storage. Eskom, for example, has identified about 18 different uses. Some of them are what you call ancillary services. They require fairly short bursts of power lasting minutes to one hour and maybe two hours and that’s where, again, we're saying short-duration technologies can come in. But there are other uses that require four-hour, six-hour, eight-hour, or ten-hour storage, on a daily basis. If we’re talking about shifting solar energy into the evening, or wind, then you need long-duration batteries and as far as those are concerned, we think vanadium flow batteries are the best solution. One of the reasons for that is the fact that within a vanadium redox flow battery, the energy is stored within the tanks of electrolyte, separate from the power unit. If I want to store more energy, I don't need to replicate the entire system, I just need to increase the sizes of the tanks and that's why with longer duration applications, vanadium redox flow batteries are becoming a lot more competitive.

The other point is that these are long-life battery systems. They last for 20 years plus, and the electrolyte doesn't degrade over that duration, which means that you can use it at the end of the...

LSE-listed Petra Diamonds has reported a year-on-year increase in revenue and production for the financial year ended June 30, even though production dipped in the fourth quarter.

Production for the fourth quarter dropped by 6% quarter-on-quarter to 745 790 ct owing to less tonnes being treated at the Cullinan mine, in Gauteng, following depletion of the CC1E mining area and the makeup of kimberlite in the C-Cut.

Nevertheless, production for the full year increased by 3% year-on-year to about 3.35-million carats, mainly as a result of the resumption of mining at the Williamson diamond mine, in Tanzania.

Full-year revenue increased to $585.2-million, compared with $406.9-million in the prior financial year.

This includes revenue from diamond sales of $584.1-million, up from $406.9-million in the 2021 financial year, and additional revenue from profit share agreements of $1.1-million.

“This year’s performance completes the successful turnaround of Petra and includes the implementation of our new operating model, incorporating continuous improvement . . . [in] efficiency, capital discipline and strong cash generation.

“Progress on these fundamentals has enabled us to expand our focus to executing our . . . growth strategy, including the two projects at Cullinan mine and Finsch, while incorporating our recently developed sustainability framework,” Petra CEO Richard Duffy said on July 19.

The company said the 44% year-on-year increase in diamond sales revenue for the year under review was driven by improved rough diamond market fundamentals, with like-for-like prices having improved by 41.5% year-on-year as a result of record jewellery retail demand out of the US following the easing of Covid-19 restrictions.

Additionally, the sale of a high number of exceptional diamonds recovered from Cullinan and one from Williamson contributed $89.1-million to overall revenue for the year under review, compared with $62-million in the 2021 financial year.

To put this result in perspective, the average contribution from exceptional diamonds is $50.7-million over three years and $39.2-million over five years.

During the fourth quarter, polished diamonds cut from the 18.30 ct type II blue partnership stone were sold, with the most notable being a 7.09 ct radiant cut diamond, which sold for $5.8-million.

Petra sold the 18.30 ct rough diamond in August last year into a partnership for $3.5-million, while retaining a 50% share of profits. The final polished diamonds realised a net profit to the partnership of $2.13-million, contributing additional revenue of $1.07-million for Petra’s 50% profit share.

Meanwhile, the company reported a lost time injury frequency rate improvement of 20% quarter-on-quarter to 0.28 for the fourth quarter and 52% year-on-year to 0.21 for the year.

Duffy said the company had enjoyed a safe and robust operating performance into the fourth quarter, recovering over 3.35-million carats for the year, in line with guidance.

He said the company reaffirmed its production and cost guidance through to the 2025 financial year.

The company’s guidance is for production of 3.3-million to 3.6-million carats for each of the 2023 and 2024 financial years and 3.6-million to 3.9-million carats in the 2025 financial year.

However, an increase in the lead-time for some capital items will shift some 2022 capital expenditure (capex) to 2023, with no expected impact on the anticipated project timing or overall capex spend.

“We are monitoring cost increases in our operations very closely, but our relatively low fuel consumption, disciplined cost management, three-year labour agreements to June 2024 and exposure to a weaker rand will assist us in better absorbing these cost pressures,” Duffy said.

He said the company would continue to closely monitor macroeconomic uncertainties, particularly the impact of inflation on the company’s cost base, the war in Ukraine and sanctions on Russian producers, as well as the ongoing implications of Covid-19.

...

Canadian junior exploration company Tantalex Lithium Resources, which is developing tin, tantalum and lithium projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), is looking to raise capital $15-million early next year for the further development of its lithium assets.

Tantalex is developing three projects in the DRC’s Manono region, in Tanganyika province, and is intent on ensuring operational cashflow positivity in 2023 to highlight the operational success its 120 people on the ground in Africa ahead of the capital raise.

The Canadian Securities Exchange- and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange-listed Tantalex is intent on getting Lubule tin and tantalum project into production as quickly as possible.

Its three projects are:

the near-term Lubule project that is expected to produce tin and tantalum concentrates in the third-quarter (Q3) or Q4 of this year, and which has already secured an offtake agreement with commodity trading house Trafigura;

the Manono lithium, tin and tantalum tailings project, where 105-million tonnes of tailings containing lithium, tin and tantalum have been defined; and

the funded pegmatite corridor exploration project into extensive hard-rock lithium potential southwest of the tailings project.

AfriMet Resources AG, which has to date invested roughly $16-million in Tantalex, is now, as the biggest shareholder, looking to developing the projects with Tantalex, which has:

$3-million from commodity trading platform TradeCloud for the exploration planned in the southwest pegmatite corridor;

a $5-million prepay and marketing agreement with concentrate offtaker Trafigura;

discussions in progress on the offtake of the lithium it is intent on producing; and

a plan to raise $15-million for 5% of its equity in the first quarter of 2023.

Generating the early cash flow will be Trafigura’s offtake of Lubule’s 1 400 t of tin concentrate and 220 t of tantalum concentrate a year.

Some 10 000 m of drilling has been done across that the Manono tailings’ projects dumps, with a mineral resource estimate (MRS) expected this year and a prefeasibility study (PFS) in Q1 of next year. An additional 2 000 t of that resource has been elevated into the measured category, with the rest in the inferred category.

The greenfield exploration project, southwest of the tailings project, has 25 km of strike, where 8 000 m of resource-defining reverse circulation drilling and 9 000 m of diamond drilling is planned, adjacent to the lithium reserve of the Sydney-listed exploration company AVZ Minerals.

“We've done the geochem work, we've done the aeromagnetic work, and we’re looking to develop the area southwest,” Tantalex Lithium Resources chairperson Hadley Natus told Mining Weekly during a Zoom interview. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

Mining Weekly: How and why did AfriMet Resources AG come to be a major shareholder and supporter of the projects?

Natus: In 2016, while I was still ex-Marc Rich, we were looking at the area, mainly around tin and tantalum. We had mapped all the lithium-cesium-tantalum – LCT – pegmatites in the region, and when I got the opportunity 2019, I was looking for a company that held assets in that region. We stumbled across Tantalex Lithium Resources. They had the corporate office in Canada, unfortunately not a big presence in the Congo itself. We have 120 staff in Africa, so we basically joined up with Tantalex because we had, let's say, the on-the-ground knowledge and the expertise and the people, and they had the shell company in Canada.

Mining Weekly: What are your production and development plans?

Natus: I want to get the Lubule tin and tantalum project into production as quickly as possible. It will get us cashflow positive in 2023 and show the market that we have the knowledge, the know-how, and people on the ground to bring something into production in the DRC. Regarding the tailings project, we’ve done additional 2 000 m so 12 000 m in total on dumps K and dump G, where the values of are very goo...

While there is commitment from State rail enterprise Transnet to find a solution to bulk commodity logistical disruption, the issue is time, as the challenges need to be overcome with the necessary speed to avoid South Africa continuing to lose out on decent commodity prices.

“The State’s financial health is directly linked to its own capacity to rail mining products to the ports for exports. It's with this in mind that the logistics problems we're experiencing should not be seen as a specifically mining sector problem. It’s a country problem and everyone must be concerned, policy makers, Transnet leadership as well as the rail customers,” Menar MD Vuslat Bayoglu emphasised during a Zoom interview with Mining Weekly. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

Menar is a private investment company with an actively managed and growing portfolio of mining assets currently made up of anthracite, coal, gold, manganese and nickel and the hand-in-glove position of bulk commodities and logistics has suffered considerable recent disruption in South Africa.

“The problems seem attributable to three sources. Firstly, the legacy of governance problems at Transnet. Secondly, contracting issues with locomotive suppliers and concerns about irregularities, and thirdly the ongoing theft and vandalism of rail infrastructure.

“The consequence is that many miners are sitting with increasing stockpiles at a time when prices are good, when both mining companies and Transnet should be making a killing and the government’s financial position should be healthier,” said Bayoglu, who answered these questions put to him by Mining Weekly:

How have the logistics challenges affected your business in particular?

The delays and, in some instances, insufficient availability of wagons has forced us to take some of our products to the road. Our calculation is that at the current coal prices, it’s affordable to do so, but if the coal prices were to tank significantly, then we’ll have an immediate crisis. Further, taking the product to road is more than twice as expensive as rail – which means we don’t realise the full value of what is otherwise a decent coal price. The fuel price hikes already add to the cost burden of trucking. Trucking is also not healthy for our roads as it increases the wear and tear rate.

Is government in general and Transnet in particular giving the industry a hearing?

I think they have heard industry concerns. The concern has been discussed on various platforms. It came up at the 2022 Mining Indaba. Recently, Transnet convened a meeting with emerging miners where the challenges were discussed. I think there is commitment from Transnet to find a solution. The issue is time. These issues need to be addressed with the necessary speed. If we don’t address them, we will continue to lose out on the decent commodity prices.

Do you think there is a solution in sight?

On the contractual dispute around the procurement of locomotives, Transnet chief executive Portia Derby has spoken about “reverse engineering” to make up for the lack of supply of locomotives parts by the contractor it had contracted. This was done while negotiations are ongoing to resolve the dispute. I believe this needs high-level political intervention by President Cyril Ramaphosa who needs to talk to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. I think it’s not diplomatically sound that a South African State-owned company and a Chinese counterpart can be locked in a dispute that effectively tempers with the logistics of trade between the two countries. China is the biggest importer of our minerals and it has direct interest in the efficiency of our rail system.

On the theft of rail infrastructure, I think the government is slow. Out of frustration about the ongoing theft, I once made a suggestion that is not typical of a businessman – that the government should think about nationalising scrap metal trading and put in place strict enforcement mechanisms. But I heard recently that Trade a...

After acquiring platinum producer Lonmin’s operations in 2019, diversified miner Sibanye-Stillwater continues to contribute to reparations for those community members who were affected by the violent wage-related protests near the then-Lonmin-operated Marikana platinum group metals (PGMs) mine between August 14 and September 18, 2012, which claimed the lives of 40 miners, two police officers and two Lonmin security guards.

Since 2019, Sibanye has been actively engaging with various stakeholders in Marikana to “create a new legacy through healing and hope in collaboration with all shareholders”, in an effort to bridge the divide between the area’s mining operations and the people who live there. This led to the establishment of the Marikana Renewal programme, which was launched in 2020 by Archbishop Thabo Makgoba.

The heart of the Marikana Renewal programme is what has been called the Letsema Process – Letsema is a Setswana word that means “voluntarily working together”.

Social facilitation organisation ReimagineSA has been contracted to facilitate engagement and drive the Letsama Process.

MEMORIAL PARK

The Marikana Renewal programme held its first pitso – a traditional Sotho gathering – in May, which was attended by 94 family members of the deceased, during which it was emphasised that the lives those striking miners who were killed in the conflict were “honoured” by engaging their families to help co-create a path toward constructing a memorial park.

The memorial park, which Sibanye group manager properties for South Africa PGMs Fritz Jooste said was still in the conceptual stages, will be situated in between the two koppies where the majority of the deaths occurred on August 16, 2012, when hundreds of strikers armed with knobkerries, pangas and guns stormed police lines and were shot down after non-lethal riot control methods failed.

Speaking to members of the media on July 14 on the site where the violence erupted ten years ago, Jooste said the memorial park was being conceived as possibly an amphitheatre, with walkways, indigenous landscaping and a remembrance monument erected in honour of the 44 people who lost their lives in the clash.

“We would like for people to visit the area. Previously, Lonmin’s proposal was to almost commercialise it, which we don’t think is appropriate,” Jooste said.

He explained that the reason the memorial park has taken so long to erect is partly because Covid-19 broke out shortly after Sibanye acquired Lonmin’s assets, partly because negotiations with the Bapo Ba Mogale landowners had to be concluded, and partly because multi-stakeholder engagement had to be achieved.

With the first pitso now concluded, and two more scheduled for the remainder of this year, Jooste said Sibanye was planning for the implementation of the memorial to begin next year.

SUPPORT TO THE BEREAVED

In 2014, 23 widows and 21 family members accepted offers of employment by Lonmin, most of whom Sibanye continues to employ. Closure counselling also continues to be offered to widows and their beneficiaries.

Meanwhile, Sibanye continues to offer legal support for the widows and families of the miners killed who have not received any compensation from the State, by engaging with the relevant authorities with a view to pursuing compensation.

Sibanye is also building houses for the bereaved, comprised of housing requested by some of the widows during a meeting with Sibanye CEO Neal Froneman in 2019.

As such, Sibanye committed to providing 16 houses to widows who had not received any of the 34 houses built by a trust fund set up by the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union in 2016.

Sibanye managed to build eight of those houses before Covid-19 resulted in delays to the programme, Jooste said.

Eight houses are currently being built in locations that were selected by widows, including in the Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, North West, the Northern Cape and Lesotho.

Of the eight houses that have been built, seven have been r...