JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The labour issues at the Mototolo platinum mine in Limpopo have been resolved, Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) said on Thursday.

The General Industrial Workers Union has accepted that the proposed medical aid meets the requirement of the Section 197 transfer, undertaken after Amplats acquired Glencore’s 39% and Kagiso Tiso’s 11% interest in Mototolo.

“We’re pleased that we’ve been able to reach a mutually acceptable outcome through negotiations. Our priority is now to safely restore the mine to full production as quickly as it is practical to do so,” Amplats CEO Chris Griffith said in a release to Creamer Media’s Mining Weekly Online.

Earlier this month, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed Amplats dismissed 643 Mototolo employees for embarking on an unprotected strike at the operation, which is located 30 km west of Burgersfort, on the eastern limb of the Bushveld Complex.

Since then, ongoing engagements with the union have culminated in the signing of a collective agreement for the reinstatement of all dismissed employees, who must report for duty by Friday.

While the ‘no work, no pay’ principle will apply for the duration of the strike, the agreement makes provision for employees to earn back their lost income within the next four months, through working additional shifts and make up for lost production.

Mototolo is a mechanised, low-cost platinum group metals resource that provides optionality for Amplats at its wholly owned, adjacent, down-dip Der Brochen resource. In buying out its partners, Amplats has secured a long-life, solely owned combined asset with growth potential.