File photo: Personnel of the Bafokeng Rasimone platinum mine stand at infrastructure of the mine
An illegal underground protest at platinum group metals major Impala Platinum’s (Implats’) Bafokeng Rasimone platinum mine (BRPM) has continued for a second day, Implats corporate relations group executive Johan Theron informs Mining Weekly
The protest action started on the morning of December 18.
The North and South shafts of the mine were impacted, while mining operations have been suspended.
As at 19:00 on December 19, 167 employees had safely returned to surface but about 2 038 employees were still underground.
Implats is engaging with labour union the National Union of Mineworkers’ leadership about the matter.
Implats has ascertained that “at the heart of the matter is an expectation created by some that their pension fund savings can be paid out, [as well as] some concerns pertaining to a historical profit share arrangement that they can, at their election, convert into a share ownership scheme similar to what Implats’ employees have at other operations,” Theron says.
He adds that it is still uncertain if any acts of violence or intimidation have occurred underground, but that it is “hard to imagine 2 000 people willingly putting their health and wellbeing at risk in this way”, especially considering that there are “established engagement processes and a management team with open doors willing to engage to create a better future”.