Sibanye-Stillwater announces leadership changes with Richard Stewart as CEO

Sibanye-Stillwater said that Richard Stewart, the group chief operating officer who had assumed the CEO-designate role in March, has now taken on the role of CEO of the group, effective Wednesday.

Stewart succeeds the well-known mining industry leader Neal Froneman, who retired as CEO and executive director on September 30, 2023, following a 12-year tenure that transformed the group into a leading multinational mining and metals processing company.

The group has also appointed Mduduzi Bhulose as Executive Vice President: Business Development.

Bhulose joins the group from the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), where he most recently served as the Head of Listed Equities. His appointment will support Sibanye-Stillwater’s continued focus on value creation across its portfolio, strategic partnerships, and disciplined growth.

Bhulose has over 21 years of experience in the investment and mining industries, having held roles at the PIC, Anglo American, Rand Merchant Bank, and Ukhozi Group. He is a qualified mining engineer and holds a BSc in Mining Engineering and a Graduate Diploma in Engineering (GDE) in Mining from the University of the Witwatersrand, as well as an MBA from the Gordon Institute of Business Science.

CEO Richard Stewart said in a statement: “We extend our sincere thanks to Neal for his visionary leadership over the last 13 years and welcome Mdu to Sibanye-Stillwater to guide the next part of our journey as we strive to deliver exceptional value to all stakeholders.”

Stewart joined Sibanye in 2014 and was previously its Executive Vice President: Business Development, and he was its COO from 2020. He is also a Vice President of the Minerals Council South Africa. On Froneman’s post-retirement plans, he has been cited in other media reports as being part of a group that hopes to bring the Formula 1 racing event back to South Africa.

Sibanye-Stillwater is one of the world's largest primary producers of platinum, palladium and rhodium and is a top tier gold producer. It also producers and refines indium and ruthenium, nickel, chrome, copper and cobalt. It has also diversified into battery metal mining and processing.

BUSINESS REPORT