Happier times ‒ females on the Impala workforce before the strike.

Johannesburg, South Africa --- MININGREVIEW.COM --- 02 February 2012 - Impala Platinum Holdings Limited (Implats) ‒ the world’s second-largest producer of the precious metal ‒ is moving ahead with action against the striking workforce which has refused to return to work at its Rustenburg operations.

In a statement issued here, Implats said the majority of the mining workforce at Impala Rustenburg had embarked on a salary-related strike and had failed to report for duty.

Furthermore, said the statement, incidents of intimidation had been reported across the mine property.

“As the strike has been declared illegal, the company ‒ in line with its ultimatum ‒ will initiate dismissal procedures,” said Implats. It added that it would begin a process of rehiring for those employees who wished to re-apply for their positions, and that further announcements would be made in due course.