JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – South Africa's powerful National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) wants Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) DG Sandile Nogxina to intervene in its dispute with new gold-mining company Aurora Empowerment Systems.

NUM spokesperson Lesiba Seshoka told Mining Weekly Online that the union wanted to meet with the DMR to discuss Aurora's planned retrenchment of 1 441 workers at its Grootvlei operations and about one-half of that at its Orkney mine.

"On top of that, workers are not being paid for work delivered. It is not fair and the NUM is hoping for the DMR to intervene."

Mineworkers at the company's East Rand operations downed tools on Friday in protest over late payments and job-loss threats.

Seshoka said that workers were paid three-quarters of their January salaries and had not been paid for February and March.

He said that since the strike started almost a week ago, management was "nowhere to be found, and we are dealing with the liquidators at this stage".

The company which took over operations from Pamodzi Gold late last year, is headed by Zondwa Mandela, the grandson of former President Nelson Mandela, and Khulubuse Zuma, nephew of the current President, Jacob Zuma.

Aurora won bids for Pamodzi gold assets in a liquidation process on the basis of retaining full employment.

Aurora said last week that it was refining its mining operations at the Springs operation, where the Grootvlei mine is located, and that it would result in the "temporary" loss of 1 440 jobs.

Zondwa Mandela told Mining Weekly Online on Friday that Aurora wanted to upscale production, but that it had to restrategise and rehire people according to the performance of operations.

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