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Fresh hope to end platinum strike

Johannesburg  - Impala Platinum (Implats) [JSE:IMP] CEO Terence Goodlace said he spoke directly with the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union's (Amcu) president Joseph Mathunjwa, signalling a renewed drive to end the five-week stoppage over wages.

Talks between the world's top three platinum producers and striking members of Amci will resume on Friday, the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).

The industrial action has taken out more than 40% of global output of the precious metal used to make catalytic converters for automobiles and threatens to derail the sector's recovery after damaging wildcat strikes in 2012.

Implats reported an 11% rise in half-year profit on Thursday. However, the latest strike in the heart of the platinum belt is costing the company 2 800 ounces a day in lost production and R60m ($5.5m) a day in revenue.

Goodlace told reporters on Thursday that he had recently spoken directly with Mathunjwa, whose members also downed tools at Amplats [JSE:AMS] and Lonmin [JSE:LON].

That the two sides are talking at the top level signals a renewed drive to end the stoppage, though the companies and Amcu remain poles apart on the issue of wages. Goodlace reiterated that demands for a more than doubling of basic wages to R12 500 a month are "absolutely unobtainable".

The producers have offered increases of up to 9%.

Also on Thursday, the CCMA said mediators met representatives of Amcu on Wednesday to try and bring an end to the month-long strike.

"This concludes the round of individual engagements with the parties, and the CCMA will now be convening a joint meeting of the parties to continue with the mediation process," CCMA spokesperson Laura Mseme said in a statement.

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