Sibanye-Stillwater's Neal Froneman to retire: the man who spun South African gold into a global Goliath

14 Feb 2025

Neal Froneman has been a towering figure in the world of mining, a deal maker of note who used the cash churned from three South African gold mines to finance a dizzying merger and acquisition spree.

Neal Froneman, the wheeler and dealer who built Sibanye-Stillwater into a diversified mining company with a sprawling global empire, will retire at the end of September 2025.

He will be replaced by Richard Stewart, Sibanye’s chief regional officer for southern Africa, the company said in a brief statement.

Stewart, who will be “CEO designate” from Saturday, 1 March, has big mining boots to fill. Froneman has been a towering figure in the world of mining, a deal maker of note who used the cash churned from three South African gold mines to finance a dizzying merger and acquisition spree.

The company was launched in 2013 as Sibanye Gold, a spin-off from Gold Fields which was then led by the visionary Nick Holland, who launched a mechanisation drive.

Even before the Marikana Massacre in August 2012, Holland had been crafting a strategy to reduce Gold Fields’ exposure to South Africa’s risky conventional, labour-intensive operations by pivoting to mechanised mining in other jurisdictions.

Sibanye was initially a dividend play, generating cash from mature gold mines that did not require vast amounts of capital for expansion. But Froneman had bigger plans.

Move to mechanisation

Like Gold Fields, Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) was also making a move to mechanisation, and Sibanye would acquire its labour-intensive platinum group metals (PGM) operations.

This PGM pivot would also see Sibanye acquire the palladium-rich Stillwater operations in the US state of Montana — a move that led to the “Stillwater” in the company’s name.

Lonmin, which never recovered from the monstrous events at Marikana, would also be swallowed by the Froneman juggernaut.

A gun collector who has a passion for long-range target shooting, Froneman had other game in his scope, and he was quick to detect where the spoor suggested the global economy was heading. Froneman would track down and bag deals in the green metals space at a dizzying pace, spinning South African gold into a global Goliath.

“From the significantly more profitable and stable base that was established, he subsequently drove the strategic growth and diversification of the group into what it is today — a multinational mining and metals processing company with a diverse portfolio of operations, projects and investments across five continents,” said Sibanye chairperson Vincent Maphai.

A legacy trail

Froneman’s legacies include a dramatic turnaround in the Marikana operations, which were on the verge of collapse as Lonmin’s fortunes sank.

Along the way, Froneman stirred a few hornet’s nests.

In 2022, his R300-million remuneration package raised eyebrows and made unions see red. In his typical style, the unapologetic Froneman defended the package.

“My salary is only a very small portion of that and, in fact, it was something like R28-million. That’s a cash portion. But the bigger part is a long-term incentive and it’s not a cost to the company. These are shares, this is a cost to shareholders. This is something that shareholders have approved over a number of years,” he told Daily Maverick at the time.

Read more: Sibanye CEO Froneman explains R300m remuneration package

Froneman and Stewart, who will take over at the end of September, are a contrast in styles.

The no-nonsense Froneman has a blunt manner and is not afraid to speak his mind. Stewart is soft-spoken and measured and takes a more diplomatic approach.

He is also unlikely to launch a fresh wave of deals as Sibanye attempts to bed down its current suite of assets and make them profitable.

The path ahead

Stewart has enough on his plate anyway.

Sibanye’s share price is down over 60% from its debut over a decade ago, waylaid by a collapse in PGM prices which just a few years ago were almost printing cash for the company.

Then there is a looming trial in November in the UK to determine potential damages Sibanye may need to pay to Appian Capital.

Appian is seeking $522-million in damages plus interest accrued over Sibanye’s termination of a $1.2-billion deal to acquire two of its mines in Brazil after a “geo-technical” event that the High Court of England and Wales ruled was not an adverse material event.

Read more: Loaded for Bear: A $600m damages claim looms as latest setback in Sibanye’s recovery

Froneman, 65, is a mechanical engineer who enjoys tinkering with fast cars in his spare time. He took Sibanye into the fast lane of mining deals. Stewart now needs to deal with some of the potholes that have emerged while shifting gears into a slower but more profitable pace. DM

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Business Maverick

Move to mechanisation

A legacy trail

The path ahead