Sibanye-Stillwater said on 30 September that its workforce at the East Boulder mine in Montana has ratified a new collective bargaining agreement with the United Steelworkers (USW), even as a separate strike at its Stillwater East mine and Columbus metallurgical facility continues for more than three weeks.
According to the company's announcement, the agreement is effective retroactively from 1 August 2026 to 31 July 2029 and provides a wage increase of 4.5% in year one and the greater of 3.5% or the Consumer Price Index in year two and the greater of 3.0% or CPI in year three. The deal is an important step in implementing the US PGM operations' plan to fully mechanize its mining, including a move away from a rock-breaking incentive to a team-based incentive and modernizing certain legacy benefits.
Local Montana outlet KTVQ reported that the East Boulder miners avoided a strike and negotiated for better health insurance premiums and bonuses. More than 400 miners and workers at Sibanye-Stillwater's operations in Nye and the Columbus metallurgical complex were set to strike on 7 September as contract negotiations between the USW and the company broke down, and KTVQ said there have been no negotiations at Nye since 17 September. A mine official told KTVQ she hopes the East Boulder agreement will encourage the striking workers to return to the table.
Sibanye-Stillwater's own announcement confirms the standoff has not ended: strike action by USW members at the Stillwater East mine and Columbus metallurgical facility continues, and the company remains committed to constructive engagement to reach an agreement that enables long-term sustainability of the operations.
The dispute follows a warning from chief executive Richard Stewart. Miningmx reported on 2 September that Stewart warned his company would have no option but to shut the 284,000 ounce a year Stillwater mine if a strike prevented the company from implementing a new wage agreement, underlining the stakes for one of the mines behind US-mined platinum and palladium supply.
For the PGM market, the East Boulder settlement removes one flashpoint in a four-month-long negotiation process, but the core dispute over pay and working practices at Stillwater East and Columbus remains unresolved more than three weeks into the walkout. Buyers and investors tracking price moves can follow live levels on DailyPlatinum's platinum price and palladium price pages, and background on the company's broader footprint is available on DailyPlatinum's Sibanye-Stillwater production profile and the PGM market supply and demand overview.
Sources
- Sibanye-Stillwater press release, via PresseBox, 30 September 2026: https://www.pressebox.com/pressrelease/swiss-resource-capital-ag/Sibanye-Stillwater-finalises-wage-agreement-at-its-US-PGM-operations-East-Boulder-mine/boxid/1314567
- KTVQ (Q2 News), "East Boulder Mine reaches deal; Stillwater strike continues," 29-30 September 2026: https://www.ktvq.com/news/sibanye-stillwater-reaches-contract-agreement-with-east-boulder-mine-workers
- Miningmx, "Sibanye-Stillwater warns US mine may close if workers oppose plan," 2 September 2026: https://www.miningmx.com/news/platinum/66995-sibanye-warns-stillwater-may-close-as-workers-prepare-to-strike/