NUM asks Sibanye to give up licence

THE NATIONAL Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has called for Sibanye Gold to surrender its mining licence to any company that can operate its underperforming Cooke 4 operation, the future of which is under review.

The NUM yesterday said 2 350 employees, including 1 500 members and 850 contract workers, planned to stage a protest today against the retrenchments and the closure of the mine. In a statement, the union said it was deeply worried that Sibanye wanted to close the shaft without following proper process.

“The NUM members demand that Sibanye Gold must allow the Department of Mineral Resources to intervene on retrenchments and closure of the mine through section 52 of the Mineral Petroleum and Resource Development Act (MPRDA),” the statement read.

Sibanye was consulting with labour unions on the future of the Cooke 4 underground mine. The mine is bleeding cash despite the record increase in the gold price, which has risen 21 percent since the beginning of the year, as investors sought a safe haven, helping gold companies make record profits.

The NUM called for Sibanye to implement section 189 of the Labour Relations Act of 1995 in alignment with the MPRDA of 2002, section 52, which stated that if a company anticipated retrenching 10 percent or more of its employees, it has to inform the Mineral Resources Minister, who at the moment is Mosebenzi Zwane. Dire situation “This drastic action by the company will leave hundreds of mineworkers in a dire situation and the surrounding communities on the West Rand,” the NUM said.

“The NUM is calling for Sibanye Gold to surrender the mining licence to any responsible company that will be willing to mine Cooke 4 operation. Sibanye does not care about the lives of mineworkers. It cares about profits of its shareholders.”

Cooke 4 is an old shaft that has become difficult to operate. It has had many underground fires over the years and is a high-cost operation. The compa impaired R817 million at Cooke 4 operations in the six months to June.

The write-down was based on negative cash flow projections for the remainder of the life of the mine.

Sibanye indicated that despite efforts of all stakeholders, the Cooke 4 operation had been unable to meet production and cost targets, and had continued to operate at a loss.

Its spokesman, James Wellsted, said Cooke 4 had been through a prior consultation period in terms of section 189 of the Labour Act and section 52 of the MPRDA in 2014 and subsequently issued further section 189 and section 52 notices.