Outline deal agreed for gold mine strike

ACCRA, May 25 (Reuters) - Unions and management at Ashanti Goldfields main Obuasi mine in Ghana have agreed a memorandum of understanding, raising hopes of an end to a 12-day wildcat strike, the mine manager said on Tuesday.

``We are waiting for the general secretary (of the miners' union) to talk to members at the miner's circle, just outside our gate,'' Alan Dodds told Reuters by telephone from Obuasi.

``We have had a positive meeting (on Monday) with the labour ministry and all the parties involved,'' he added.

Asked if, as a result of the meeting, he expected the 9,000 miners to resume work by Wednesday, he said: ``We hope so.''

State television said on Monday night that a memorandum of understanding had been reached during the meeting between government officials, labour unions and mine management.

The agreement said that all Obuasi miners should resume work immediately and that within 72 hours of resumption of work, the company's management and mineworkers' unions were to start renegotiating on a new salary increment.

On May 14, a breakaway group of 500 workers refused to accept a new pay deal negotiated between Ashanti and the Ghana Mine Workers' Union for the miners employed at Obuasi.

The miners wanted a salary increment, Ashanti offered them a lump sum of 317,000 cedis ($131), arguing that low gold prices did not allow for an increase in wages.

The average monthly wage of a miner at Obuasi is about $150 but he can boost this to up to $360 through bonuses.

Ashanti closed operations after strikers blocked access to the mine. Police had to be called in after violence broke out.

Ashanti said last week the strike was costing it 2,500 ounces of lost gold production a day. Maintenance at the mine, the largest in West Africa, had continued and no significant damage had occurred to production facilities.

The Obuasi mine produces 885,000 ounces of gold per year and consists of an impressive complex of deep underground and vast open pit mines, heap-leach gold recovery facilities, treatment plants and the world largest bio-oxidation plant.