South Africa's Gold One (ASX:GD) followed Amplats example and on Tuesday fired 1,435 of its 1,900 Ezulwini employees in South Africa, after a week-long illegal strike.
The miner said in a statement the turmoil at its Ezulwini mine, just outside Johannesburg, began on Oct. 1 when "a large number of employees at Ezulwini failed to report for work."
Striking workers had been asked to appear today at disciplinary hearings.
The company said the sacked workers have until Thursday to appeal their dismissal.
Gold One also said the South African Police Service was maintaining a strong presence at the operation to ensure that there were no acts of intimidation or violence. “Currently only essential services are continuing at the mine,” the company added.
Last week, Anglo American Platinum dismissed 12,000 workers taking part in a three-week illegal strike after following through on tough talk over wildcat stoppages in South African mines.
Since August, about 100,000 workers across South Africa, 75,000 belong to the mining sector, have downed tools in often illegal and sometimes violent strikes that are threatening South Africa's growth this year while undermine investor confidence in the sector.
South Africa’s mining industry accounts for 6% of gross domestic product and the country’s platinum production equals 75% of the world's total.
