A Blyvoor Gold source said about 60% of the workforce has returned after about seven weeks of disruption followed the murder of company director and Blyvoor Workers’ Union (BWU) leader Wels Sempe.
Located near Carletonville, Blyvoor went into liquidation after it was crippled by a violent wildcat strike in 2012. Over R1-billion in investment, most of it foreign, has been raised in recent years to get the mine back on its feet. But union rivalry brought it to a standstill in March.
“The police were failing to follow an interdict instructing them to arrest people causing disturbances on mine property, so we got another high court order and then the police arrested a few of the perpetrators,” a company source told