[miningmx.com] — PLATINUM Australia, the Australian exploration firm developing platinum projects in South Africa, on Wednesday reported that strike action at its Smokey Hills mine in South Africa has halted almost all operations at the mine.
The company said in an announcement to the Australian Stock Exchange on Wednesday that the majority of employees of the mining contractor Redpath Mining have refused to go underground since Monday.
“The employees have been advised by the contractor to return to work or face dismissal for participating in unprotected industrial action,” said Platinum Australia.
It said the contractor had measures in place to deal with this situation in the event that employees are dismissed.
“While the action does not involve any other workers on the mine, it has resulted in the stoppage of almost all operations at the mine,” the company said.
Scheduled maintenance work in the plant has been brought forward to assist in minimising the impact of the stoppage.
“The company is unsure how long the action will impact operations at Smokey Hills, but at this point expects normal operations to recommence by the end of this week or the beginning of next week,” the company said.
