Charges against Impala chief Munroe dropped
CRIMINAL charges against Mark Munroe, the chief executive of Impala Rustenburg, for contravening certain regulations of the Disaster Management Act have been dropped. The company said yesterday that the charges were withdrawn during a court appearance on Monday.
Munroe was arrested in April and posted R60 000 bail for alleged contravention of regulations when he recalled about 6 000 employees back to work.
Commenting on the dropping of the charges, Impala (Implats) Platinum chief executive Nico Muller welcomed this development, saying that the group continued to prioritise efforts by its management team, in close collaboration with the government, to protect the health and wellbeing of all its stakeholders.
“Munroe, our chief executive of Impala Rustenburg, and Dr Jon Andrews, our group executive health, safety and environment, have done a remarkable job in shaping efforts to manage the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on our operation and the broader mining industry.
“I wholeheartedly commend the leadership team, including the general managers of our mining and processing operations, for their unfailing support of all relevant government regulations in prioritising the health and safety of our employees and host communities,” Muller said.
Implats said it had taken several proactive steps to safeguard its business through the challenges and volatility associated with Covid19, with a key focus on saving the lives and preserving the livelihoods of its employees, contractors and host communities.
“The management team maintains regular and open communication with all key stakeholders, including employees, organised labour and relevant government agencies,” said the company. The group said it had to date continued to undertake operations in a legally compliant and responsible way.
“Implats has supported the decisive action taken by the South African government and SAPS to contain the Covid-19 infection rate and remains committed to contributing, where we can, to South Africa’s socio-economic stability,” said the company.
In June, Impala had said that the nationwide lockdown in South Africa, implemented in March 2020, imposed legislated limits on staffing levels at Impala Rustenburg, Marula and the joint venture at Two Rivers, but made allowances for continued operations at the group’s processing operations.
Despite these limitations on staffing, the ramp-up of production had surpassed initial expectations, with revised operating protocols proving to be effective in mitigating the impact of potential virus-related interruptions at its South African mines, which had returned to 85 percent of capacity by mid-June 2020.
Implats expected to report higher earnings during the year ended June on the significant increase in the dollar basket price for Platinum Group Metals (PGMs), together with rand depreciation, which had resulted in a higher rand PGM basket price received by the group during the period.
Implats shares closed 2.59 percent lower at R168.33 on the JSE yesterday.