Johannesburg - South African gold miner Gold Fields
[JSE:GFI] said about 12 000 of its workers have been on a wildcat strike since
Wednesday evening, the latest labour unrest to hit the mining industry in
Africa’s top economy.
Gold Fields said in a statement on Friday it has lost two
day and two night shifts at the east section of its KDC mine in South Africa.
The world’s fourth-largest gold producer said the strike was
likely due to union disagreements and it was in talks with labour to resolve
it.
“Based on informal feedback from employees, the strike
appears to be related mainly to disagreements within organised labour and
related structures on the mine, although we cannot confirm this,” it said.
A labour turf war between the established National Union of
Mineworkers and militant newcomer, the Association of Mineworkers and
Construction Union (Amcu), has halted production at the South African
operations of Lonmin [JSE:LON] for about three weeks.
Amcu’s president told a separate news conference on Friday
that it had no members at Gold Fields and was not involved in the strike.
Gold Fields’ KDC mine is its biggest operation in South
Africa, producing 279,600 ounces in the April-June quarter.
Shares of Gold Fields were down 3.2% to R100.66.
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