South African miner Sibanye Gold has fired 2,000 workers taking part in a wildcat strike at its Cooke mine, the National Union of Mineworkers said on Thursday.
James Wellsted, a spokesman for Sibanye, confirmed the dismissals but not the number.
Workers at the mine, located south-west of Johannesburg, have been on an illegal strike for more than two weeks, angered by the company's decision to ban them from taking food underground.