JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Mining contractor JIC Mining Services and the National Union of Mineworkers have settled on a two-year wage agreement, ending a strike that impacted on platinum output in South Africa.

Eastern Platinum said the majority of the 756 JIC employees working at its Crocodile River mine returned to work on Wednesday’s shift and full attendance was expected on Thursday.

Last week, the miner said that the industrial action halved its Crocodile River platinum production to 210 oz/d.

JSE-listed Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBPlat) also confirmed on Thursday that the industrial action by JIC at its Bafokeng Rasimone platinum mine (BRPM) had been suspended.

“It is expected that production at BRPM will return to normal by Monday,” the company said in a statement.

RBPlat estimated the loss of production at its mine to be 34 350 t run-of-mine, with a resulting loss of 3 920 oz of 4E platinum-group metals, comprising platinum, palladium, gold and rhodium. The company said it was considering various measures to mitigate the risk of future disputes between contract miners and their employers.
 

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