South African gold mine job cuts widen with 16,000 at risk

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By Kevin Crowley and Paul Burkhardt
Bloomberg News
Thursday, August 3, 2017

More than one in 10 gold mining jobs in South Africa may disappear after Sibanye Gold Ltd. announced that it is joining AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. in looking to close unprofitable shafts to stem losses.

Sibanye may cut 7,400 jobs as it prepares to close its Cooke and Beatrix West operations, which account for about 16 percent of its planned gold production, the Westonaria, South Africa-based company said today. Added to AngloGold's planned 8,500 job cuts, that means about 14 percent of the country's gold-mine workers are at risk.

South Africa produced more gold than any other country for a century until 2007, but depleted reserves and rising costs have meant production and jobs have tumbled since the industry's heydays of the 1970s and 1980s. The country's aging gold mines are the deepest in the world and generally rely on labor-intensive, low-tech extraction methods. ...

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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-...ay-cut-7-400...