Johannesburg — HARMONY Gold "is busy looking at alternatives" to retrenching more than 2000 workers at three aging mine shafts, a spokeswoman said yesterday, as mining unions considered legal action to save the jobs.

Harmony plans to close three shafts at its Evander operations in Mpumalanga and another near Virginia in the Free State. Spokeswoman Marian van der Walt said: "The main reason for the possible closures is that these ore bodies are depleted. These shafts are at the end of their lives, with mature infrastructure, and are no longer profitable.

"We still haven't made any final decisions. We're busy looking at alternatives to retrenchment -- transferring workers to growth projects, and voluntary retrenchments for those aged 57 and 58."

The possible closures were made public last Wednesday by Harmony CEO Graham Briggs, who told investors in London: "With the costs you've got in underground operations, at (grades of) 3g a ton, you battle to make ends meet."