JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – South African mining contractor Murray & Roberts Cementation had terminated the employment of around 3 900 of its staff at the Aquarius Platinum operations in Rustenburg, as no agreement could be reached regarding an illegal strike.

The strike action, which affected about 75% of underground operations at the Kroondal and Marikana, have been ongoing since Sunday.

Cementations MD Henry Laas told Mining Weekly Online that restaffing the operations would start in Thursday afternoon. Laas noted that workers previously employed at Kroondal or Marikana would be able to reapply for their jobs.

Aquarius Platinum said earlier in the day that there would be an impact on production at Kroondal and Marikana, if Murray & Roberts Cementation proceeded with dismissals.

The miner noted that steps to mitigate the impact of the action on the operations were in hand, including milling stockpiles. Major maintenance operations, including the relining of the K2 mill previously planned for October, have been rescheduled and would be undertaken this week.

Laas estimated that it would take up to two weeks for the Kroondal and Marikana operations to be back to full production.

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