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Johannesburg - Bullion producer Sibanye Gold [JSE:SGL] plans to cut up to 2 500 workers at its recently acquired Cooke 4 mine west of Johannesburg, two industry sources told Reuters.
"Sibanye plans to make the announcement on Friday," said one source, who asked not to be named.
Another source close to the process confirmed the planned retrenchments.
In July the mining giant posted an over 50% drop in first-half earnings.
However, it said at the time that its newly acquired Cooke mines had "made a positive contribution to operating profits and operating cash flow after capex in the first month of incorporation".
Sibanye produced and shipped its first consignment of uranium from its Cooke operations in May.
The consignment of uranium in the form of 10 tonnes of ammonium diuranate (ADU) went to the Nuclear Fuels Corporation of South Africa (Nufcor) where ADU is calcined to form Uranium Ore Concentrates (UOC).
The mine also indicated in June that it is considering buying platinum mines.
"I can confirm that we have publicly expressed our interest in potentially acquiring a platinum asset if it is value accretive and supports our strategy," spokesperson James Wellsted said in a statement at the time.
