[miningmx.com] — EASTERN Platinum has posted a quarterly loss on lower output and the company said its flagship Crocodile River Mine project was damaged following a wage dispute with the National Union of Mineworkers (Num).
After Eastern’s revised wage offer was rejected last week by the union, about 180 workers occupied the Zandfontein and Maroelabult mines and damaged facilities.
The underground electrical and pumping equipment were sabotaged resulting in flooding and ventilation systems were also damaged, the company said.
The mine was vacated on May 7, but the company had to suspend operations at Crocodile River pending the results of a safety inspection.
The company said the mine is now operating, but employees are still protesting and blocking the mine entrance to prevent non-striking employees from entering.
Eastern said on Wednesday it had a first-quarter loss of $5.6m, or 1 cent a share, compared with earnings of $824,000 a year earlier.
The company’s platinum group metals production, which includes platinum, palladium and rhodium, fell 17% in the first quarter.
