Sibanye-Stillwater hit by cyberattack, but says mining business unaffected

Sibanye-Stillwater (JSE: SSW; NYSE: SBSW) has confirmed reports of an ongoing cyberattack that has disrupted its IT systems globally.

In a statement Thursday, the South African miner said it took immediate steps to proactively isolate IT systems and safeguard data as soon as it became aware of the incident, which began on Monday.

In addition to the containment measures implemented, Sibanye said it has also hired external experts to help identify the breach and restore the system.

While the investigation into the incident is ongoing, there has been limited disruption to the group’s core mining and processing operations, it noted. Sibanye currently mines platinum and gold in South Africa, and also operates a palladium mine in Montana.

The cyberattack reportedly brought down the company's servers, causing disruptions to certain areas of its global operations. On Wednesday, officials from its Montana operations told local media that the smelter operations in Columbus were impacted after its automated systems all went down.

The mining firm stressed that it is taking this incident seriously and is committed to addressing the cyberattack.

"Our efforts remain focused on working towards the full remediation of the effects of this attack. We are voluntarily reporting this incident to the appropriate regulators and will provide further updates as necessary," it stated.

A Sibanye spokesperson told Reuters on Thursday that the company is still not aware who was behind the attack, and no demands for payment have been received.

At the time of writing, its official website remains inaccessible to the public.