Sibanye-Stillwater to build new copper, gold mines on two continents

AI desk brief

Sibanye-Stillwater approved two new growth projects — the Mt Lyell copper-gold mine in Tasmania and the Burnstone gold mine in South Africa — as stronger precious-metals prices improve the group’s financial flexibility. Mt Lyell is slated to receive $7.5 million (A$11 million) in 2026, with first production targeted for early 2029 and steady-state output of up to 26,000 tonnes of copper, 16,000 oz of gold and 116,000 oz of silver a year.

Burnstone is expected to get $5.4 million of spending this year, with $193 million in infrastructure capex planned over six years and processing due to start in 2029. At steady state, the mine is forecast to produce about 130,000 oz of gold annually over an estimated 25-year life, helping shift Sibanye’s South African gold portfolio toward shallower, lower-risk, longer-life ounces. The company said the approvals further unlock value in its organic project pipeline while it continues to prioritise capital toward South African PGM growth.

The near-term market read is mostly about corporate confidence in the metals backdrop rather than an immediate supply shock: both projects are years away from meaningful output. Still, the development pipeline adds medium-term gold supply and shows miners are using elevated gold and PGM prices to fund growth internally. Sibanye’s half-year results underline that trend, with headline EPS rising to about $0.33 from $0.10 a year earlier, an interim dividend of about $0.11 per share, and realized gold prices up 35% over the period.