South Africa's Wesizwe and AMCU Reach Agreement on Bakubung Platinum Mine Restructuring
en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 3, Wesizwe Platinum stated that the consultation and mediation process for the restructuring of its Bakubung Platinum Mine, conducted under Section 189A of South Africa's Labour Relations Act, officially concluded on August 31. The company has signed a restructuring settlement agreement with the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) and representatives of affected employees outside the bargaining unit, but failed to reach an agreement with the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), which did not sign the restructuring settlement document. The entire process was facilitated by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration.
Wesizwe is currently processing employee arrangements following the conclusion of consultations, including reassigning retained employees back to their positions and determining the final outcomes of termination of employment for affected employees. The company has not yet disclosed the final number of retrenchments, nor has it provided a specific date for the resumption of normal mining operations at Bakubung; once internal verification and implementation procedures are completed, the company will separately announce the final impact of the restructuring and key timelines for the mine's restart.
This restructuring is directly related to adjustments in Bakubung's production strategy. In March this year, Wesizwe halted its previous phased ramp-up plan, which included a 1 million tonnes per annum option, and instead adopted a development plan to ramp up directly to 3.5 million tonnes per annum. In early June, the company initiated the Section 189A process, with an initial estimate that approximately 497 employees could be affected out of a total workforce of 706 at the mine. To facilitate labour consultations, Bakubung implemented a three-week temporary suspension of operations starting from 18:00 on June 3, during which mine safety, environmental compliance, and recoverable operational status were maintained.
On June 26, Wesizwe planned to resume operations in phases starting from the week of June 29, subject to the completion of relevant agreements with unions and employee representatives. On July 16, the company signed a memorandum of understanding with AMCU, while representatives of employees outside the bargaining unit had completed their relevant agreements on June 26; NUM at that time continued to participate in the mine's labour arrangements under the existing peace agreement signed on February 21, 2024. Subsequently, Bakubung suspended mining operations again on July 31, as large numbers of employees gathered at the mine site following union feedback sessions, and management assessed that the health, safety, and security risks of continuing production had escalated. Essential services continued to operate during the suspension.
Bakubung is Wesizwe's core platinum group metals project, located on the western limb of the Bushveld Complex in South Africa's North West Province. The underground mine primarily exploits the Merensky Reef and the UG2 chromitite layer. The mine is equipped with a production shaft, a service shaft, and processing facilities, with the main shaft designed to hoist 250,000 tonnes of ore and 15,000 tonnes of waste rock per month. The final impact on employees under the current restructuring agreement, as well as the next timeline for the resumption of mining and processing operations, remains to be determined by the company.
