JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – South African manganese producer Assmang and trade unions will start a consultation process on retrenchments at the Black Rock mine, in the Northern Cape, where about 19% of the mine’s workers could be fired.

Trade union Solidarity said on Thursday that it had received a Section 189 notice from Assmang, which indicated that 261 of the mine’s 1 388 employees could possibly be affected by a retrenchment process.

Jan Steenkamp, the CEO of ferrous division of African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), which owns a 50% stake in Assmang, confirmed on Thursday that jobs would be reduced at the Black Rock mine, but would not be drawn on the exact number.

He said that Assmang was hoping to accommodate some of the retrenched manganese workers at its new Khumani iron-ore mine, where employment is growing.

Solidarity said that Assmang plans implement the retrenchments at the end of July.

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