Impala to cut 1 000 jobs in SA

Picture: Phill Magakoe

Picture: Phill Magakoe

Published Apr 26, 2017

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Johannesburg - Impala Platinum Holdings said protests at its Marula

mine in northeast South Africa and low metal prices had led the world’s

second-largest producer of the metal to start a reorganisation process that

could lead to more than 1 000 job losses.

The mining regulator and relevant labour unions have been

contacted and all parties will work together to minimize the impact of the plan

on employment, the Johannesburg

based company said in a statement on Wednesday. Impala expects the negotiation

process to be completed by the end of June, it said.

“This is something the business and economy can ill afford,

but remains imperative if we are to protect the financial viability of our

business and preserve jobs as far as possible,” Chief Executive Officer Gerhard

Potgieter said in the statement.

The decision comes as the South African government struggles

to reduce unemployment, which was 26.5 percent in the fourth quarter of last

year. Platinum miners have battled with low metal prices and demands for higher

wages and living standards from their workers, while members of communities

surrounding the mines have protested at a lack of housing and jobs.

Community Ownership

Marula employs almost 4 400 workers and contractors,

according to Impala’s website. The company reduced its annual production

forecast for the site in February due to protests in the community, which owns

a 9 percent stake in the mine through a local trust.

The protest action that’s led to the reorganization is

related to community dissatisfaction with the way its 50 percent interest in

the Makgomo Chrome project is being managed, Impala said. Chrome is a waste

product of platinum. Marula’s production was also affected by the closing of a

hybrid mining section at one of the shafts.

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Impala said third-quarter refined platinum output dropped to

331,000 ounces from 353 000 ounces a year earlier, while full-year guidance was

maintained at 1.5 million refined platinum ounces. At Marula, production of

platinum in concentrates for the quarter decreased by 47 percent to 9 000

ounces.

The stock fell 0.3 percent by 9:15 a.m. in Johannesburg on Wednesday. That pared gains

this year to 2.4 percent, compared with a 9.4 percent advance on the FTSE/JSE

Africa Platinum Index.

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