JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) said it had lost 3 886 oz of platinum production from its Siphumelele mine during the latest violent flare-up in the Rustenburg region earlier this week.
The company restarted production on Wednesday at its Union and Amandelbult mining operations after employees staged a one-day work stoppage on Tuesday following the injury of 15 employees in an inter-union dispute on Monday.
The latest violent flare-up was reported to have been caused by members of a workers’ committee contesting the legitimacy of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and demanding that the dominant union vacate its offices.
A process of union-membership validation was under way at the company’s mines, Amplats said.
The walk-out added to tension at Amplats, which was looking to shed about 14 000 jobs during a restructuring programme in efforts to recover from the impact of labour unrest, difficult markets and the struggling platinum sector.
The platinum miner was engaged in talks with government and labour unions on its planned job cuts, but CEO Chris Griffith was previously quoted as saying he was "not confident" the negotiations would prevent the job losses.
In January, workers downed tools in a one-day protest against restructuring after Amplats announced its plans to close four of its shafts, reconfigure its Rustenburg operations and sell its Union mines, which would result in a reduction of capital expenditure and production.