Harmony Gold has announced it will reopen its Kusasalethu mine in South Africa after weeks of remaining shut due to a period of labour unrest
The mine was closed following a strike by employees from October to December 2012.
Harmony said the mine, which is located to the west of Johannesburg, was expected to recommence production from June 2013, claiming that around 6,000 jobs would have been in jeopardy if the closure had been permanent.
Graham Briggs, CEO of Harmony, recently said it had become unsafe for the mine to continue to operate, adding that the cost of these events had been enormous, with two people having lost their lives and a number of employees being assaulted and injured.
South Africa’s mining sector was rocked by a wave of labour unrest in 2012 which resulted in violence and more than 50 deaths in total.
Stakeholders have reportedly agreed that each Kusasalethu employee must sign a code of conduct on their return to show their individual commitment to ensuring that the mine remains a safe and secure place to work.
A monitoring committee will be established to ensure that the guarantees and undertakings in the agreement are complied with.
