A strike at the Modikwa platinum mine has had little impact on production, according to joint owners Anglo Platinum.

South Africa's National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has claimed that as many as 3,000 members out of a total workforce of 5,000 stayed away from Modikwa on Friday after negotiations had broken down over benefits.

The mine is jointly-owned by Anglo Platinum and African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) and although the NUM claimed that the strike had brought production to a halt at the mine, a spokesman for ARM insisted that was not the case.

Pieter Rorich told Reuters: "The plant that mills the ore and produces the concentrate is still running at a normal pace at this stage and we've redeployed people so the mining can continue at a slower pace."

The Modikwa mine produced 293,313 ounces of platinum group metals during 2006.

Ÿ Adfero Ltd