Workers at Angloplat finally decided to strike yesterday evening after meetings with the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the platinum giant broke down.

The world's biggest platinum producer now joins Implats, the second largest platinum outfit, in having to cope with striking staff.

NUM deputy general secretary Archie Palane told Reuters that wage talks had failed to broker an agreement and confirmed action would take place.

"Talks broke down. The strike will start tonight (thurs) with the 10 p.m. (20:00 GMT) shift," he told Reuters.

Angloplat says it remains open to negotiations and will “continue engaging the other unions and associations not involved in strike action”, but the two sides appear to be no closer to resolving the situation.

More than 17,000 workers are currently on strike at Implats, with analysts estimating that the firm is losing as much as R28 million per day.

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So far this morning, Angloplat reports the strike is yet to impact on output.

"The strike should have started last night but the situation is still normal with the majority of our workers turning up for work. It has had no impact on production at this stage," spokesman Mike Mtakati told Reuters.