Aquarius suspends Kwezi ops after armed attack

Aquarius Platinum has reported that a 'very serious security incident' occurred early on Wednesday afternoon at its Kwezi shaft, a production unit at Kroondal, near to Rustenburg in the North West Province, leaving three dead and at least 20 injured.

Operations at Kwezi shaft were immediately suspended, and management has evacuated around 450 morning shift employees to ensure their safety.

The incident saw around 200 people, some of whom were armed, force their way onto the mine property. They are understood to be former employees of the

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mine's mining contractor, who were dismissed following illegal strike action in June of this year.

"Members of the private security company under contract to the mine attempted to disperse this unruly crowd as the actions of the group, which included the throwing of petrol bombs, threatened both mine employee lives and property," the firm said.

A total of 450 employees were on the shaft and underground at the time of this invasion.

Members of the South African Police Service were on site at the time of the incident and have now taken charge the situation to restore order, the firm added.

In July the company's boss warned his firm is likely to be hit by strikes over the South African winter.

In a production update the Chief Executive, Stuart Murray, said that "the likelihood of industrial action [...] is high, largely as a result of inter-union rivalries.

"Aquarius is by no means immune to this threat, and intermittent unlawful industrial action has occurred at one of Kroondal's four shafts in July."

The share price fell 3.83% to 37.20p by 16:38.

NR