Theron said Implats is undertaking a R2.7-billion restructuring programme after six years of trying to find alternatives.
"We’ve been losing up to R2-billion a year over the past six years and we’ve reached a point [where] we have to do something to save as many jobs as we can."
Amcu president Joseph Mathunjwa on Monday proposed that the government nationalise the five of 11 shafts that Implats has proposed closing or selling over the next two years.
He threatened that if talks with Implats failed and all Amcu’s avoidance measures were not considered and "put in practice"‚ then Amcu would bring the company’s South African mines to a complete halt.
"We’ll hit them where it matters most. We’ll ask for secondary strikes . . . so if Impala owns mines in Limpopo‚ we will make sure that not one ounce of platinum will leave the ground. We are capable of doing that. We are not bluffing‚" Mathunjwa said.