Johannesburg - Operations at Sibanye Gold's [JSE:SGL] Beatrix mine resumed on Monday night after a turf war between opposing unions forced the mine to close for two days, the company said on Tuesday.
Sibanye said unions agreed to stop any acts of violence after nine mineworkers were injured on Thursday following clashes between the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu).
The gold producer estimated that the work stoppage had cost it R11.5m or 25 kg or 804 ounces of gold per day, which it hoped to recover in the course of the year.
The violence raised concerns that it would spark fresh unrest ahead of wage talks in the gold sector later this year.
Sibanye said the fighting erupted because Amcu, which represents 30% of the workforce, claimed it was the majority union.
"Management will now focus on completing its investigations into the cause of the violence, in order to ensure that the perpetrators are identified and appropriately dealt with," Sibanye said in a statement.
Tens of thousands of former NUM members have been poached by Amcu on the platinum belt in a turf war that flared in 2012 and has spread into the gold sector.