Sibanye is at war with illegal miners

• More than 450 incidents were recorded in 2023, with 1,239 arrests made at the group’s gold operations

Sibanye-Stillwater has laid bare its efforts to tackle illegal miners who have infiltrated its operations, some of whom are complicit with employees and particularly contractors, to fleece the group of millions of rand in precious metals.

The group said in its 2023 annual report released on Friday that its SA gold operations were a target for organised crime syndicates dealing in precious metals, and the illegal underground mining was the biggest security threat facing the company. The Neal Froneman-led group said that it recorded more than 450 incidents of illegal mining in 2023, with 1,239 arrests made at its gold operations. The mining house also reported 2,010 copper-related incidents, with financial losses from copper theft amounting to R113m.

Illegal miners and syndicate leaders have intensified their use of complicit employees to gain access to the underground workings and compromise our access controls.

In terms of addressing the integrity of security officials, protection services continues to work with the group s organisational growth function, with Psira [the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority], and with business partners as we refine our efforts to address collusion, the group said.

Systems for doing so include vetting, screening, profiling and investigating employees. This is an ongoing initiative. For the year under review, 451 incidents of collusion with illegal miners were recorded.

Sibanye said that it had uncovered a modus operandi in which some of its employees cloned their fingerprints through latex moulds and give their clock cards to illegal miners.

The group said it was of concern was that while contractors make up only 2,956 of its 22,300 gold mining workforce, they constitute 56% of incidents of collusion with illegal miners.

NO DETERRENCE

The company, which is one of the biggest employers in SA across industries, said that due to the high crime rate in the country that seems to overwhelm the police, it had to assume responsibility for the safety of its operations.

The group decried the leniency shown by the justice system to illegal miners arrested at its operations, saying that the sentences handed down did not serve as a deterrent. Most court cases end in relatively lenient sentences (averaging about six months imprisonment or a R10,000 fine); with the country s human rights-based justice system putting the burden of proof on the accuser and not the accused, said Sibanye.

Worsening this challenge is that illegal mining is not directly addressed by SA legislation. Those arrested cannot be charged with illegal mining. Thus, in many cases, we are obliged to lay relatively minor charges of trespassing.

Illegal mining activities are said to cost the country s formal mining industry more than R7bn a year. Sibanye also flagged the quality of public services in SA that continues to decline, affecting business competitiveness.

Apart from energy availability, bulk water supply is also starting to come under pressure with more frequent shortcomings in service delivery, the company said.

The ports and rail network fail to provide the transport and logistics services required for effective operations.

Though there is reluctance from the government to implement meaningful reforms that will strengthen state control on the delivery of public services, there are signs of meaningful progress in addressing the challenges of service delivery that are being enabled through the private sector, said the group.

In the electricity area, several major power stations are recovering from long-term periods of unavailability over the next one to two years with new initiatives contemplated to strengthen the transmission grid permitting accelerated introduction of renewables that can provide low carbon electricity at more cost-effective life cycle pricing.

The outcome of the forthcoming national election in 2024 will be critical in setting political direction about the provision of public services.

ILLEGAL MINING IS NOT DIRECTLY ADDRESSED … IN MANY CASES, WE ARE OBLIGED TO LAY … MINOR CHARGES OF TRESPASSING