A total of 1,700 Impala Platinum workers are reported to have been sacked following a strike at the Rustenburg site.

A so-called 'wildcat' strike brought operations to a halt on Wednesday, but the workforce has now been summarily dismissed according to Business Day.

Operations executive Paul Visser said that the " wildcat and illegal strike" had led to the decision.

He said that the 1700 rock drill operators took their action without issuing any demands, and did not contact the company or the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM).

"We knew nothing. NUM also did not know," Visser said.

A list of demands was eventually submitted, but Implats insisted that the miners return to work before discussions could begin.

Mr Visser said that "one NUM leader" told the miners to continue the strike after the talks began.

"They stepped out of a win-win situation. So, this morning (Friday) 1700 were discharged," Visser said.

NUM general secretary Gwede Mantashe gave little details of the action, as he said the union "wants to engage the company quietly".

"We must use our energy to try to resolve the problems," Mantashe said.