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Reuters reports that Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe said on Thursday that the plan by Gold Fields to cut jobs at its struggling South Deep mine failed to address "poor management".
Gold Fields announced earlier this week that it would be cutting 1,100 permanent jobs at the mine, which is its only remaining South African asset. Mantashe commented: "Gold Fields is sitting on the second biggest gold deposits in a mine in the world. Going for job cuts is the easy way out. The real problem is poor management." South Deep has long faced operational obstacles in a tough geological setting and has lost R4-billion over the past five years. In response, Gold Fields said on Thursday it would be making further comments on its restructuring plan during its interim results presentation. CEO Nick Holland wrote on Wednesday in a newspaper article that the job cuts were a "last-gasp measure". Mantashe told Reuters he was engaging both Gold Fields and Impala Platinum, which has also announced job cuts, over the planned lay-offs. "We want to support them but they come to us after making these announcements. It is deviant behaviour," said Mantashe.
- Read this report in full at Mining Weekly
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