PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Platinum Australia on Wednesday reported that underground operations at its Smokey Hill mine, in South Africa, had restarted.

Mining at Smokey Hills came to a halt on March 3, as mine contract staff went on an unprotected strike, leading to the dismissal of workers.

Mine contractor Redpath Mining had received appeals for re-employment from some 400 workers, or 80%, of the dismissed work force, Platinum Australia reported.

Underground mining operations have been restarted as Redpath completed the appeals process of about 70% of the employees. The appeal process for the balance of the work force should be completed by the end of the week.

The crushing plant is now operating at full capacity and Platinum Australia anticipates restarting the milling and flotation plant on Wednesday.

It is unclear how many ounces were lost during this time, however, Platinum Australia previously reported that scheduled maintenance work on the plant had been brought forward to assist in decreasing the impact of the stoppages.

During the six months ending December, around 170 000 t of ore was mined from the Smokey Hills openpit operation and more than 136 000 t from the underground operations. More than 20 000 oz of four element platinum group metals was shipped from the operation during this time.

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