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Neal Froneman

Cofounder, Sibanye-Stillwater

Search every verified Neal Froneman interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Neal Froneman, chair of Blue Mountain Racing, has been promoting a R6.7 billion plan to bring Formula One to South Africa on 600 hectares of farmland in the Swartland, Western Cape, rather than at Kyalami. In a recent interview, he described the project as being in an early exploration phase, noting that the consortium has had its first interaction with Formula One but is far from negotiations. He stated that the target is a Grand Prix in South Africa by 2031 and that Rothschild is advising on financing. Froneman also discussed the support the project has received from Western Cape officials, including the mayor and premier, which he described as unequivocal and unconditional in the national interest. Froneman, who previously led Sibanye-Stillwater and turned around mines that others had abandoned, said the project is being treated like a mine still in exploration. He acknowledged the fallback if Formula One declines, and commented that modern Grand Prix events are week-long spectacles and entertainment destinations, which he argued older circuits like Kyalami cannot host. He also referenced past obstacles to a South African Grand Prix, including the Lady R scandal, which he said led Liberty Media to halt a previous bid.

Recent appearances

Notable quotes

“We have had our first interaction with Formula 1. We are a long way from being into a negotiation process. But when I review previous bits, I think it used to be about a motor race and you're right, in those days if you were a Formula 1 driver champion that would count a lot. Today it's a spectacle. It's a completely different business. It's an entertainment destination. It's a week-long festivity. And it's a lot mor”

“We are a bunch of professionals. I'm the executive chairman. I suppose my skills are I know how to run a business. I know when it's going to make money, when it's not going to make money. And I'm reasonably good at putting strategy into place. The team I have consists of Bobby Hartzleaf who was actually the original founder and Bobby Hartzleaf actually ran the last few Grand Prix in South Africa in the '90s. That's p”

“The strategy of the company is developed by the board and the executive, and I see no reason why it wouldn't change unless circumstances change. So strategy is not fixed. Strategy needs to adapt and be flexible. But if you think about the journey, gold companies didn't pay good dividends. We started out by becoming the industry-leading dividend payer because we had cash generative gold assets at the time. That gave u”

“Of every single transaction that I think back on, the one that was probably the most difficult but the best one was Marikana. It was because the commercial aspects stacked up were easy to see. The legacy issues were incredibly difficult and highly risky, and even today you do get unions that say it's the Marikana tragedy. Meanwhile, we didn't even exist in 2012. But nevertheless, we went into it with eyes wide open, ”

“Mining and our products will not be judged at one company alone but by the lowest common denominator amongst us. We do not just carry the legacy of Marikana. As the industry, we carry the responsibility for it and to ensure it never happens again. This is why we as a company are fully committed to the new consolidated mining standard being developed jointly by the ICMM, the World Gold Council, the Copper Mark and the”

“We are very focused on emissions at an operating level. Now our biggest production base is in South Africa where our single biggest exposure is energy and electricity which is unfortunately generated using coal. So of course the more we can do to offset dirty electricity the more we can impact on getting to net zero. So we have 407 megawatts of renewable energy projects currently under construction. That's the third ”

The summary and quote tags on this profile are produced with AI assistance from verified, first-person interview transcripts, then checked by our team to confirm the speaker's identity and the accuracy of every quote. See how we verify →