[miningmx.com] – HARMONY Gold said it had suspended restructuring at its west Rand mine, Kusasalethu, and would prepare to re-open the mine by end-April with full production expected by June.
This follows an agreement between the gold producer and unions, including the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the Associated Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), to observe a code of conduct in terms of which employees are required to individually subscribe to a code of conduct
The start-up plan would begin on February 15 and commence in phases with each employee being recalled to the operation individually from February 19. Inductions and the process of making working areas safe would take up to eight weeks, Harmony said.
As a result, production was expected to begin towards the end of June with full production forecast to resume by June.
The Section 189 process in terms of the Labour Relations Act would only be suspended such that if the instability that motivated Harmony to suspend operations at the mine last year reoccured, Harmony would resume the restructuring process.
“We have received satisfactory assurances from all employee organisations – AMCU, NUM, Solidarity and UASA – that their members have committed to compliance with the conditions. On this basis, management feels comfortable to proceed with re-opening the mine,’ said Graham Briggs, CEO of Harmony Gold.
“Existing and established rights of engagement from both a labour and employer perspective have been reinforced and we are pleased that we can continue mining at Kusasalethu. Safety is our first priority and we refuse to compromise on this value,’ he said.
Up to 6,000 jobs at Kusasalethu were at risk had the mine closed, although he added that a rehiring process would have taken place in July.
Briggs said in January that he would not reward bad behaviour on the mine and that he felt it was necessary to “draw a line in the sand’. Kusasalethu was subject to a 23-day strike in 2012, which was followed by further disruptions at the mine in which two employees were killed.
Subsequent to that, labour had staged wild cat underground sit-ins and had shot at police on the premises of the mine – a condition that Briggs said Harmony could not tolerate further.
Kusasalethu is expected to become one of Harmony’s largest South African mines producing between 260,000 to 300,000 ounces a year of gold. It recently turned the corner in terms of its profitability.
