JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Sibanye Gold has halted operations at its Cooke mine, after four employees were injured in an attack by unknown assailants in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Two of the four employees were seriously injured and are being treated at local hospitals. The incidents are related to illegal industrial action which started yesterday, following a union membership verification dispute.

The membership verification process, agreed with the unions – the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) – and facilitated by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration, started two weeks ago and is still ongoing.

Despite management engaging with the unions and repeatedly explaining the procedure, a group of employees embarked on illegal protest action during the night shift on October 3.

The NUM confirmed that two of its branch leaders were victims in the attack, allegedly by AMCU members, who blocked the main gates at Cooke operations, while threatening workers not to go to work.

Sibanye CEO Neal Froneman said in a statement that it was “regrettable” that AMCU had taken this course of action, when all employees were fully appraised of the verification process.

“We are concerned about the acts of intimidation and violence and call upon all union members to respect the rights of other employees who wish to work.

“We are in discussions with AMCU to resolve their concerns. The assault of Sibanye employees is unacceptable and we are investigating these incidents and will take strong action against the perpetrators. We call on the unions to ensure that their members show restraint,” he added.

However, NUM Pretoria–Witwatersrand–Vereeniging regional secretary Mpho Phakedi accused the mining company of allowing the attack. “Sibanye Gold did nothing to send security [personnel] to protect them. We demand answers from the company,” he noted. 

Sibanye’s share price on the JSE fell by as much as 7.8% on Tuesday.