[miningmx.com] – EARLY estimates are that the one week strike at Gold Fields’ West African mines – Tarkwa and Damang in Ghana – had resulted in the loss of 14,000 ounces of gold production, the Johannesburg firm said.
Members of the Ghana Mine Workers Union went on strike on April 2 citing a number of grievances which ranged from discontent over the reduced profit share from the group’s last financial year (ended-December 31) to claims its members were treated less well than expatriate employees.
“We have agreed to set up joint, independent committees to look into the various grievances of which the unhappiness over the profit share is a big one,” said Sven Lunsche, spokesperson for Gold Fields.
In terms of Gold Fields’ profit share scheme, the after-tax proceeds are shared with employees. But higher taxes in Ghana during the last financial year resulted in a significantly lower payout. Lunsche said a solution may be available in two weeks time.
In the meantime, mining at the open pit mines at Tarkwa and Damang could begin immediately while the processing plants would take a couple of days to build up to full capacity, Lunsche said.
The two mining complexes employ about 4,000 people.
Damang and Tarkwa in particular are important constituents in the new Gold Fields now that the volume provided by KDC and Beatrix have been removed from the production pie following their unbundling into Sibanye Gold.
In the last financial year, Tarkwa produced an attributable 647,000 ounces of gold for Gold Fields, equal to some 15% to 20% of total production. Perhaps more importantly, Tarkwa has the second lowest cash cost after Cerro Corona at some $673/oz and is the highest margin producer: 37% NCE.
The emergence of a more bellicose union presence on the mine, however, is surprising for Ghana, although Lunsche says the Ghana Mine Workers Union has been more active in the last few years.
That could perhaps relate to ongoing contact the our own National Union of Mineworkers. Says Lesiba Seshoka: “We always have interaction with various unions globally. And we are expected to play a leadership role in Africa’.
Frans Baleni, secretary-general of the NUM, is more open about recent contract between the unions. “We have communicated as we have done in the past with the Ghanaians since the strike has started,’ he said. “On a lighter note, the first question we asked them was if they have an Amcu [Associated Mineworkers & Construction Union] there or not.’
