By: Reuters

Wesizwe Platinum WEZJ.J will lay off nearly 500 workers, or around 70% of the workforce, at its Bakubung mine in South Africa, it said on Thursday, as it shifts from phased development of the delayed project to a single-stage ramp up.

While South Africa accounts for more than 70% of the global supply of the metal used in autocatalysts that reduce vehicle exhaust emissions, new platinum projects like Bakubung are increasingly rare.

Platinum miners are apprehensive about expanding production as the industry faces a long-term threat from electric vehicles, which do not require autocatalyst metals.

Chinese-backed Wesizwe is abandoning its original plan for a phased ramp-up for Bakubung that would have started with 1  million metric tons of annual production.

The project, which has been in development for around 15 years, will now follow a single-stage ramp-up to 3.5 million tons per year, Wesizwe said in a statement.

"This revised strategy will necessitate a reduction in the number of employees required to establish and sustain the production profile contemplated in the updated business plan," the company said.

"The proposed restructuring is expected to affect approximately 497 employees across various staff levels and disciplines throughout the business," it added.

Wesizwe, whose anchor shareholder is China-Africa Jinchuan Investment, said maintaining the current headcount of 706 employees would not be sustainable.

The Bakubung platinum project is running behind its production schedule due to a combination of factors including funding delays, COVID-19 disruptions, labour unrest, community protests and a cyberattack.

Wesizwe did not offer a timeframe for when the project might enter production under the new plan.

(Reporting by Nelson Banya; Editing by Joe Bavier)