/ 28 July 2003

SA gold miners report little disruption to shifts

South Africa’s three major gold miners AngloGold, Gold Fields and Harmony experienced small stay-away incidents by their workforce on the Sunday night shift but everything was back to normal on Monday, said company representatives.

An eleventh hour offer by South Africa’s major gold miners on the weekend averted a strike by members of the National Union of Mineworkers, which was scheduled to start late on Sunday.

If the strike had taken place it would have been the first major strike in the South African gold sector since 1987.

“Everything is back to normal today. At the Randfontein and Elandskraal gold mines turnout wasn’t 100% on Sunday,” Harmony marketing director Ferdi Dippenaar said.

“There were minor incidents of stay aways but on balance the shifts operated normally,” said Gold Fields spokesperson Willie Jacobsz.

AngloGold spokesperson Shelagh Blackman said she was not aware of any

disruptions at the group’s gold mines in South Africa. – I-Net Bridge