Gold Fields Limited says it has lost around 14,000 ounces of production as a result of week-long industrial action at its 90 per cent-owned Tarkwa and Damang mines, in Ghana.

This came as striking employees returned to work after Gold Fields’ Ghanaian management and the Ghana Mineworkers Union (GMU) reached a settlement on the issues that gave rise to the dispute.

Gold Fields Corporate Affairs Manager, Sven Lunsche told Mining Weekly Online yesterday that, while the plants at each mine would return to full production within a day or two, opencast mining had immediately resumed.

He did not provide details on the settlement reached between the two parties. “There were quite a few demands by the GMU and the bulk of them will be dealt with through joint or independent investigations into the issues raised by the union,” he commented.

On April 2, members of the GMU and its affiliates, the Professional Managerial Staff Union and the branch union, presented management at both mines with a number of demands and threatened industrial action should the company not respond favourably to the demands within 24 hours.

The demands relate to a dispute in the determination of profit share payments to employees; the unconditional reinstatement of an employee who was dismissed following an internal disciplinary procedure and dissatisfaction with certain management structures.

The rest of the demands are the removal of certain members of senior management, concerns about catering delivery models and allegations of discrimination between expatriate and Ghanaian employees.