South African diversified miner Sibanye Stillwater is discussing with lenders to temporarily lift limits on borrowings, it said on Friday, after weak platinum group metal prices drove earnings 72% lower in the March quarter.
Sibanye CEO Neal Froneman said in the update that declining earnings could impact the company’s debt covenants – formal agreements between a borrowing company and its lenders that the company will operate within certain limits.He said Sibanye was also “focusing on the balance sheet with a view to increasing liquidity through a number of non-debt instruments such as pre-pays and streams”.Metals streaming involves selling future metals production in return for an upfront cash payment.