Sibanye-Stillwater Halts Expansion and Lays Off Workers Amid Falling Palladium Prices

The South Africa-based company, which owns the only platinum and palladium mines in the U.S., is laying off about 100 workers and affecting 187 contract workers due to a sharp drop in palladium prices.

• Sibanye-Stillwater, the owner of the only platinum and palladium mines in the U.S., is halting an expansion project and laying off about 100 workers due to a sharp drop in palladium prices.
• Another 20 jobs have gone unfilled since October, and 187 contract workers, about 67% of the mining contract workers at the mine, will also be affected.
• Palladium prices have fallen from a peak of about $3,000 an ounce in March 2022 to about $1,000 per ounce now. Platinum prices also have fallen, but not as dramatically.
• The company can still make money working on the west side of the Stillwater mine at Nye with the current palladium prices, but the expansion on the east side is not cost effective.
• The Montana AFL-CIO, the Department of Labor and Industry and unions across the state are working to help those who were laid off to file claims for unemployment benefits and to find new work.

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