Another 12 000 miners will be ousted over next three years

By on December 14, 2017

South Africa’s miner Lonmin and precious metal group Sibanye-Stillwater on Thursday said it could cut more than 12,000 jobs over the next three years after a takeover.

South African precious metals miner Sibanye-Stillwater has agreed to buy Lonmin in an all-share deal estimated at about $382 million.

The platinum producer has been battling weak global platinum prices and soaring operating costs in South Africa.

Global platinum prices are trading around their lowest levels since early 2016. The market has been grappling with bloated supply and declining demand from the automotive industry.

The London-listed company says it is engaging all interested parties on ways to minimize job cuts at its operations.

The mining giant in October, announced plans to cut over 1,000 jobs due to persistently low commodity prices and rising costs.

Lonmin has suffered a 53% decline in its capitalisation so far this year as it came dangerously close to breaching its debt covenants.

The company is the third largest producer of platinum, which is used in catalytic converters in cars, and is mainly found in South Africa.

Sibanye-Stillwater owns gold and platinum mines across South Africa, Zimbabwe and the United States.

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