Sibanye Stillwater digs deeper into uranium as Russia throttles supply

Russian President Vladimir Putin's temporary restriction on exports of enriched uranium to the United States has increased demand for uranium and encouraged mining companies to reopen dormant operations. Among these is South African mining company Sibanye-Stillwater, which is exploring ways to tap into its uranium resources and re-open its uranium mines. The company has partnered with venture capital firm C5 Capital to explore advanced nuclear opportunities, including Small Modular Reactors (SMR). In an interview with National Security News, James Wellstead from Sibanye-Stillwater said the company is looking for ways to unlock its uranium resources. Sibanye-Stillwater sits on 27 million pounds of uranium at Beatrix mine in the Orange Free State and 32 million pounds on the surface in a tailings facility at its Cooke operations. Sibanye, he said, wants to play a bigger role both upstream and downstream in the energy transition in the future.