At the annual Marikana Commemoration lecture, Advocate Geoff Budlender, who served as the senior evidence leader at the Marikana Commission of Inquiry, gave a sobering evaluation of the lessons that the Marikana Massacre left undone. He urged the mining sector to listen to the grievances of miners, saying, “Unless there are avenues for anger and frustration to be heard and addressed, violence becomes the language of last resort.”
Sibanye-Stillwater convened the sixth annual lecture; it acquired Lonmin in June 2019.
Giulia Paravicini and David Lewis 14 Aug 2025 Grave cause for reflection
Budlender argued that the commission had been unable to probe deeply enough into the underlying causes of the tragedy – particularly the extreme anger and alienation of rock drill operators.
“What shocked me most was not only the killings themselves, but (also) the level of alienation.
“These were people who felt so disregarded that they saw themselves effectively at war with their employer and with the police,” Budlender said.
He warned that such conditions must serve as a wake-up call for all mining companies.
“If you have people living on your property and working for you, and they are in that state of hostility, it should give you grave cause for reflection.
“Unless there are avenues for anger and frustration to be heard and addressed, violence becomes the language of last resort.”
Budlender concluded, “It is only if we address these matters that our mining industry will be able to thrive, to the lasting benefit of those who work on the mines, those who own them, and our country.”
Sipokazi Fokazi 25 Jul 2025 Essential partners
Sibanye-Stillwater's outgoing CEO, Neal Froneman, reflected on six years of engagement at Marikana since Sibanye-Stillwater acquired the Lonmin assets in 2019.
“While much has changed, we need to acknowledge that our industry was built off the back of desperate migrant labour, a history that devastated families and communities, and we still bear the scars today.
“Communities are not merely beneficiaries; they are essential partners in ensuring that mining operations and the benefits we create together outlast the life of (the) mine.
Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, patron of the Marikana Renewal programme, and Judge Ian Farlam, who chaired the Marikana Commission of Inquiry, also contributed reflections at the event.
