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Pretoria - Mining houses and trade union top officials started arriving on Friday morning for a meeting with Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe in a bid to resolve problems facing the sector.
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) delegation was led by its president Senzeni Zokwana, and the rival Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) by its president Joseph Mathunjwa.
Amcu has halted plans to embark on a strike at Lonmin over recognition rights as a majority union.
Top officials from Uasa, Solidarity, the National Council of Trade Unions, the Federation of Unions of SA, the Congress of SA Trade Unions, the Chamber of Mines, and the SA Mining Development Association also arrived for the meeting in Pretoria.
Several chief executives of mining houses, including Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan of AngloGold Ashanti [JSE:ANG], Sipho Nkosi of Exxaro Resources [JSE:EXX], Simon Scott of Lonmin [JSE:LON], Graham Briggs of Harmony Gold Mining Company [JSE:HAR], and Chris Griffiths of Anglo American Platinum, were attending.
President Jacob Zuma has tasked Motlanthe with leading interactions with unions and mining companies.
The industry has been plagued by strikes and violence, especially in the Rustenburg platinum belt.
Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant, and Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu, who were tasked with assisting Motlanthe, were also present, as were State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele and Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa.
