S.African Sibanye's 2021 gold output above lower end of target

HARARE (Reuters) - South African precious metals miner Sibanye Stillwater said on Thursday its annual gold output was slightly above the lower end of its target range, boosted by a strong second-half performance, even though some operations were halted.

The company said South African gold production for 2021 was 27,747 kilograms, compared with its lower-end estimate of 27,500 kilograms, and second-half production was 7% higher than the first half.

It said its Beatrix mining operations, which were suspended after four fatal accidents between Nov. 29 and Dec. 3 last year, will resume towards the end of this month.

The Beatrix processing operations will resume in April after a three-month suspension to allow rehabilitation work, the company said.

The miner's production, however, faces further upheaval as Sibanye Stillwater said on Jan. 14, South Africa's labour arbitration body had cleared unions to give the company notice of a strike after the two sides failed to resolve a wage dispute at its gold operations.

Sibanye Stillwater will announce its financial results for the six months to December 2021 on Feb. 17.

(Reporting by Priyanshi Mandhan in Bengaluru and Nelson Banya in Harare; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)