Zimbabwe lithium miners want royalties to be linked to prices
The battery metal has slumped from a peak in late 2022 amid oversupply and weak demand from the electric vehicle sector.
Lonmin Plc plans to cut 4,100 workers at mines that have run out of profitable ore and are being closed.
The platinum producer has started a process that’s required under South African labor law to carry out the workforce reductions, said Wendy Tlou, a spokeswoman for the company. The layoffs will come from six old mines that have run out of commercially viable ore.
The cuts are part of Lonmin’s plan to trim its staff and lower costs at its deep-level mines. In 2017, the company said it would cut 12,600 workers over a three-year period.
Shareholders are voting this month on an acquisition by rival Sibanye Gold Ltd. after the company struggled through years of losses and was forced to seek debt-covenant waivers from lenders.
(By Felix Njini and Loni Prinsloo)
