• Connect with us
    • Information
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Careers
      • Partnerships
      • Advertise With Us
      • Authors
      • Browse Topics
      • Events
      • Disclaimer
      • Privacy Policy
    • Australia
      North America
      World
    Login
    Investing News NetworkYour trusted source for investing success
    • North America
      Australia
      World
    • My INN
    Videos
    Companies
    Press Releases
    Private Placements
    SUBSCRIBE
    • Reports & Guides
      • Market Outlook Reports
      • Investing Guides
    • Button
    Resource
    • Precious Metals
    • Battery Metals
    • Base Metals
    • Energy
    • Critical Metals
    Tech
    Life Science
    Precious Metals Market
    Precious Metals News
    Precious Metals Stocks
    • Precious Metals Market
    • Precious Metals News
    • Precious Metals Stocks
    platinum investing

    Northam Platinum Signs 3-year Wage Deal with NUM

    Nicole Rashotte
    Oct. 02, 2018 02:55PM PST
    Precious Metals
    JSE:NHM

    Platinum miner Northam has signed a three-year deal with South Africa’s National Union of Mineworkers. It will give members wage hikes over that time period.

    South African miner Northam Platinum (JSE:NHM) has signed a three-year wage agreement with South Africa’s National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), which includes wage hikes of more than double the inflation rate, the company announced on Tuesday (October 2).

    The agreement allows increases in basic wages for entry level underground employees of R1,000.00 in the first year, R1,100.00 in the second year and R1,200.00 in the third year. There will also be a R200.00 annual increase in housing/living out allowances over the course of the three years.

    “We recognize the mature and constructive manner in which the engagement has been undertaken. The agreement provides for continuity, certainty and allows all stakeholders to focus on the sustainability of the business going forward,” stated Paul Dunne, CEO of Northam.

    According to Reuters’ calculations, the increase works out to be just under 11 percent annually, compared with an inflation rate of 4.9 percent.

    Failing prices and rising costs often times do not allow South African mining companies room for big wage hikes but despite this, unions state that the increases come off a low base rooted in the country’s apartheid past when the black labor force was exploited and simultaneously underpaid.

    “NUM members at Northam Platinum are very pleased and excited that the wage agreement was concluded without any strike, violence, intimidation and loss of life,” the union stated in a press release.

    Luckily for Northam, its financials are in better shape than many other miners in the South African area, thanks to high grades and a switch to mechanization, which is the change from working largely or exclusively by hand to doing that work with machinery.

    At the end of Q2 2018, Northam reported that its PGMs production rose 4.5 percent year-on-year, largely due to strong operational performance at its Zondereinde mine in Limpopo, which produced 348,888 ounces of equivalent refined 6E, an increase of 7 percent from Q2 2017.

    Additionally, earnings increased from R967 million in the second quarter of last year to approximately R1.1 billion in Q2 of this year, with normalized headline earnings around R420 million compared to R398 million in the prior comparable period.

    As of 3:00 p.m. EST, Northam was down 0.41 percent, trading at ZAC 3,900.00.

    Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time news updates!

    Securities Disclosure: I, Nicole Rashotte, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article. 

    platinum investingsouth africajse:nhmnortham platinum
    The Conversation (0)

    Go Deeper

    AI Powered

    South African Mining Minister Presents New Offer for PGM Miners to Consider

    Community Requests 30-percent Mine Stakes from Amplats

    Latest News

    Canada One Mining: Positioned for Significant Copper Discovery in  British Columbia

    Locksley Produces High Grade Antimony Concentrate

    Providence Gold Mines: Unlocking Untapped, High-grade Gold Deposits in the historic Mother Lode Gold Belt in California

    Blue Jay Gold: Building the Next Multi-million-ounce Gold Portfolio in Canada

    1,173 Soil Geochemistry Samples Completed

    More News

    Outlook Reports world

    Resource
    • Precious Metals
      • Gold
      • Silver
    • Battery Metals
      • Lithium
      • Cobalt
      • Graphite
    • Energy
      • Uranium
      • Oil and Gas
    • Base Metals
      • Copper
      • Nickel
      • Zinc
    • Critical Metals
      • Rare Earths
    • Industrial Metals
    • Agriculture
    Tech
      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Cybersecurity
      • Gaming
      • Cleantech
      • Emerging Tech
    Life Science
      • Biotech
      • Cannabis
      • Psychedelics
      • Pharmaceuticals

    Featured Precious Metals Stocks

    GoldMoney Inc.

    XAU:CA

    Metallica Metals Corp Com

    MM:CNX

    Champion Bear Resources Ltd.

    CBA:CA

    Braveheart Resources Inc.

    BHT:CA

    Mineworx Technologies Ltd.

    MWX:CA

    St-Georges Eco-Mining Corp

    SX:CNX
    More featured stocks

    Browse Companies

    Resource
    • Precious Metals
    • Battery Metals
    • Energy
    • Base Metals
    • Critical Metals
    Tech
    Life Science
    MARKETS
    COMMODITIES
    CURRENCIES