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JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) &ndash; South Africa&rsquo;s African Rainbow Minerals&rsquo; (Araymond grinding mill in pakistan for saleRM&rsquo;s) failure to start mine wage negotiations could lead to strike action at its Nkomati nickel mine, in Mpumalanga, National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) spokesperson <strong>Lesiba Seshoka</strong> said on Thursday.</p>
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&ldquo;Bargaining should have started long ago, but ARM said they were waiting for their budget to be finalised. We thought the process would at least start in April, but it is almost August now,&rdquo; he told <em>Mining Weekly Online</em>.</p>
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ARM said in a statement that mine management held meetings with NUM branch leaders in preparation of the upcoming negotiations.</p>
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The last of the meetings was held on July 16 and the Nkomati management had since notified the branch that formal negotiations would start on July 24.</p>
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&ldquo;The Nkomati mine management is committed to commencing with the negotiations, with the objective of concluding a mutually acceptable agreement,&rdquo; the miner said.</p>
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Nkomati is a joint venture between ARM and Russian nickel and palladium producer MMC Norilsk Nickel (Norilsk). The mine is South Africa&rsquo;s only primary nickel producer, its output includes palladium, platinum, copper and chromium as byproducts.<br />
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