Sibanye-Stillwater (JSE: SSW; NYSE: SBSW) has approved its Mt Lyell copper-gold project in Tasmania and Burnstone gold project in South Africa, advancing two long-life developments as stronger metals prices boost its finances.
The Johannesburg-based miner plans to spend $7.5 million (A$11 million) on Mt Lyell in 2026 as it advances the project near Queenstown towards first production in early 2029. At steady state, the mine is expected to produce as much as 26,000 tonnes of copper, 16,000 oz. of gold and 116,000 oz. of silver annually.
“We are pleased that Burnstone and Mt Lyell have recently received a positive investment decision by the board to proceed, marking a further step in unlocking unrealized value from the Group’s organic project portfolio,” Sibanye-Stillwater said on Tuesday.
The approvals show Sibanye is selectively advancing its project pipeline even as it focuses most of its capital on organic growth, particularly its South African platinum group metals business. Mt Lyell is the second offshore greenfields project approved by the South African miner, following its Keliber lithium development in Finland.
Project pipeline
Keliber was commissioned earlier this year, and Sibanye said it would consider expanding the operation to produce refined battery-grade metal in 2027.
At Burnstone in Mpumalanga province, Sibanye expects to spend $5.4 million this year following the widely anticipated approval. The company plans $193 million in project infrastructure spending over six years, with the processing plant expected to start operating in 2029.
Burnstone is expected to produce about 130,000 oz. of gold annually at steady state over an estimated 25-year mine life. Sibanye said the development would help shift its South African gold portfolio towards shallower, lower-risk and longer-life production.
The two approvals add copper and gold growth to Sibanye’s pipeline while its existing operations benefit from sharply stronger precious metals prices, potentially giving the miner greater flexibility to fund development from internal cash flow.
Metals boost
Sibanye announced the investment decisions alongside half-year results showing profit more than tripled as higher gold and platinum group metals prices lifted earnings.
Headline earnings per share rose to about $0.33 for the six months ended June 30 from about $0.10 in the same period a year earlier. The company declared an interim dividend of about $0.11 per share, returning roughly $314 million to shareholders.
Average realized PGM prices increased 67% at Sibanye’s southern African operations and 70% in the US, while its realized gold price climbed 35% during the half-year.
The company noted the stronger pricing environment provides a favourable backdrop as it commits capital to projects that will broaden its future production mix beyond its established PGM and gold operations.
