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Last updated: Jul 16, 2026 at 05:07pm

Rustenburg

Rustenburg is a shallow to intermediate level PGM operation, with surface sources and concentrators located on the Western Limb of the Bushveld Complex, northeast of the town of Rustenburg and Kroondal in the North West Province of South Africa, some 126km north-west of Johannesburg.

Statistics as at 31 December 2025

Life of mine

Surface operations: 2026
Kwezi: 2027
K6: 2028
Bathopele: 2028
Kopaneng: 2031
Siphumelele: 2038
Bambanani: 2040
Khuseleka: 2045
Thembelani: 2057

Production 4E PGM

922,573oz

All-in sustaining cost

US$1,352/4Eoz

Workforce

21,959

employees and contractors

For up-to-date quarterly production figures, please refer to the latest results booklet.

The Rustenburg operation consists of three intermediate depth vertical shafts that utilise a conventional mining method — Siphumelele 1, Khuseleka 1, and Thembelani 1 — and six shallow, inclined operational, mechanised shafts, which utilise shallow bord-and-pillar mining methods.

As at 31 December 2025, Rustenburg had total attributable 4E PGM Mineral Reserves of 9.3Moz and 59.5Moz of 4E PGM Mineral Resources.

A closer look

A brief history

In 1925, exploration on the eastern limb of the Bushveld Igneous Complex started
In 1929, the first vertical shaft at Rustenburg section was sunk at what was to become Rustenburg Platinum Mines Ltd
In 1935, the Waterfall Vertical Shaft was constructed, while the Central Deep Shaft and the Siphumelele 3 Shaft were constructed in 1951 and 1953, respectively
Johannesburg Consolidated Investments (JCI) acquired a controlling interest in Rustenburg Platinum Mines and eventually the principal shareholder of JCI was Anglo American, which acquired a controlling interest in JCI in 1960
The control ultimately passed on from JCI when Anglo American Platinum came into being in 1995 when JCI was unbundled
In 2013, the extent of the Mineral Resource included in the PSA was extended, prolonging Kroondal’s LoM, and in 2016, Sibanye-Stillwater acquired the Rustenburg operation from Anglo American, as well as a 50% stake in Kroondal via the acquisition of Aquarius Platinum
In 2021, agreements with AAP were concluded allowing Kroondal to mine into the Rustenburg operation mining right and in 2022, Sibanye-Stillwater reached an agreement with AAP to take full ownership of Kroondal. All contractual obligations were fulfilled during 2023
In January 2025, Rustenburg operation received regulatory approval and acquired all the assets and liabilities of Kroondal operation

Property and infrastructure

The Mineral Resource is accessed to 34 level (the lowest working level) at Siphumelele 1 shaft, approximately 1,350m below surface; to 28 level (the lowest working level) at Khuseleka 1 shaft, approximately 950m below surface; and 29 level (the lowest working level) at Thembelani 1 shaft, approximately 1,030m below surface. The Mineral Resources at Kwezi, K6, the two Bathopele shafts, Kopaneng and Bambanani are accessed via declines from surface to a maximum depth of approximately 600m below surface. 70% (41.6Moz) of the total Mineral Resources are above shaft bottom infrastructure (AI), and 30% (17.8Moz) are below shaft bottom infrastructure (BI).

The vertical shafts mine both Merensky Reef and UG2 Reef horizons, while the shallow, mechanised shafts only mine UG2 Reef. The ore from the vertical shafts and Bathopele is processed at the Waterval UG2 concentrator. Ore from Kwezi, K6, Kopaneng, and Bambanani is processed via two concentrator plants (K1 and K2). All concentrate is processed in terms of toll and PoC agreements by Valterra Platinum. All the UG2 concentrator plants have integrated chromitite recovery circuits, which recover a chromitite concentrate from the ore.

Key infrastructure consists of

Six vertical shafts, of which three are in production and three are on care and maintenance
Seven incline shafts, mined on a bord-and-pillar system with mechanised equipment with one on care and maintenance
Six PGM concentrator plants, with four of the concentrators treating underground material and two of the concentrators treating surface or tailings material
Dense media separation plants at both Kroondal concentrators that remove ±35% of the total volume delivered (principally waste)
One hospital/medical centre
Workshops, office blocks and equipment stores
Accommodation and hostels
Water treatment plants

The vertical shafts make use of conventional handheld equipment, combined with rail-bound equipment for logistical movement of ore, men and material, while the inclined shafts make use of tyred, low-profile, mechanised equipment.

In addition to the underground operations, there is also a tailings retreatment operation at the Platinum Mile plant where tailings from the Waterval TSFs and live tailings from the Waterval UG2 concentrator are retreated.

Mineral title

The Rustenburg operation is the holder of the following mineral title under the following DMPR reference numbers:

NW30/5/1/2/2/82MR (82 MR) (153.72km², valid until 28 July 2040)
NW30/5/1/2/2/80 MR (80 MR) (32.44km², valid until 28 July 2040)
NW30/5/1/2/2/10205 MR (17.22km², valid until 30 September 2039)
NW30/5/1/2/2/10204 MR (25.08km², valid until 30 September 2039)
NW30/5/1/2/2/368 MR (2.66km², valid until 4 March 2042)
NW30/5/1/2/2/369 MR (4.09km², valid until 4 March 2042)
NW30/5/1/2/2/370 MR (0.33km², valid to 4 March 2042)

The Hoedspruit prospecting right, held under DMPR reference number: NW30/5/1/1/2/10405 PR, for which the renewal application was granted on appeal, where the execution of such deed of renewal is yet to occur.

Tailings deposition and capacity

Tailings deposition is managed across the following tailings storage facilities (TSFs):

Paardekraal TSF (PK4 & PK5) — fed from Waterval UG2 and Waterval retrofit plants after PGM extraction at Platinum Mile, at 750ktpm (life of TSF until 2069, with activation of the PK5 dormant area)
Paardekraal TSF (PK Central) — fed from Waterval UG2 and Waterval retrofit plants after PGM extraction at Platinum Mile, at 250ktpm (life of TSF until 2026)
Hoedspruit TSF — fed from WLTRP plants at 480ktpm (life of TSF until 2044)
K1 TSF is fed from K1 plant at 28ktpm (life of TSF until 2027 at the current deposition rate)
K150 TSF is fed from K1 plant at 86ktpm (life of TSF until 2028 at the current deposition rate)
K2 TSF is fed from K1 (80%) and K2 (20%) plants at 86ktpm (life of TSF until 2030 at the current deposition rate)
Marikana TSF is fed from K2 plant at 200ktpm (life of TSF until 2037 at the current deposition rate)

The combined TSFs have a remaining capacity of 269.7Mt, with the current LoM requiring 121.3Mt, resulting in a surplus of 148.4Mt.

Key developments and brownfield projects

Phase 1 of the Siphumelele UG2 mechanised project is in execution. This project combines the shallow, mechanised Bambanani decline and the conventional Siphumelele vertical shaft infrastructure to facilitate the mechanised mining of UG2 to a depth of 980m. A further phase 2 PFS, aimed at extending this mining down to 1,200m in depth, is in progress.

A study is being progressed, making use of the shallow, mechanised Kopaneng declines, in combination with the Khomanani 2 vertical shaft infrastructure, to exploit the UG2 down to a depth of 1,200m via mechanised methods.

These two projects, in combination, will enhance the mechanised mining profile at Rustenburg by extending the depth reach of the existing declines. Better efficiencies can also be expected through the synergies and logistical benefits with the vertical shafts.

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