Ghost of Marikana at Beatrix

08 February 2015 - 02:00 By Lucky Biyase
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Sibanye Gold's share price spiked by more than 7%
Sibanye Gold's share price spiked by more than 7%

Shafts at Sibanye Gold's Beatrix mine in the Free State will remain shut until order has been restored after violence flared up this week.

On Thursday arch rivals the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) came to blows, leading to nine casualties.

The news battered Sibanye's share price on Friday, wiping R512-million off the company's R27.9-billion market value as it fell 1.8%. Sibanye has been the standout gold stock over the past year, as its share price has risen 83%.

The clash ignited on Thursday afternoon when Amcu members, who arrived at the mine to conclude a recognition agreement with the company, came face to face with NUM members.

Sibanye spokesman James Wellsted said operations would remain suspended until stability had been restored: "We are busy negotiating with the unions at all levels of leadership to calm down the situation."

Wellsted said the company had been in negotiations for some time with Amcu, which claimed it was the largest union at the mine. "Our audits proved that they are not a majority, but they do meet the threshold for them to be recognised," he said.

Despite the rivalry, it is understood that the leaders of the two unions have been trying to talk to each other to avoid a repeat of the bloodshed at Marikana in 2012, when Amcu dislodged the NUM as the main union in the platinum belt.

Observers said the clash at Beatrix was an indication of the degree of tension in the gold sector ahead of wage negotiations starting in April . Amcu is the largest union in the platinum sector, and it is aiming to reach a similar position in the gold sector.

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