Mineworkers at Scotia Talc Mine have downed tools in Barberton, Mpumalanga.
Government will step in should Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) and Sibanye Gold Mines fail to resolve the on-going wage dispute.
Lily mine, that caved in three years ago in Louieville near Barberton in Mpumalanga, is to start operating next in March.
The Association of Mine workers and Construction Union (Amcu) members have threatened a prolonged strike in the platinum mining sector.
The standoff between Sibanye Stillwater and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) appears nowhere near to being resolved.