World No. 2 platinum miner, Impala platinum is to re-instate all the workers dismissed in the recent strike at its flagship Rustenburg operations

Impala Platinum, the world's second-largest platinum producer, has agreed to re-instate all 17,200 workers who were dismissed following an illegal strike, aiming to end a dispute that paralysed the company's biggest mine, the miners' union said on Saturday.

South African riot police fired tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon this week at hundreds of striking miners who went on the rampage at Implats' Rustenburg plant, the world's single biggest platinum mine.

Production at Rustenburg, which accounts for 60 percent of Implat's output, came to a halt a month ago after the company sacked 17,200 employees following a January 12 wildcat strike over bonuses. The strike is costing the company an average of 3,000 ounces of platinum a day.

"The company agreed to re-employ all the 17,200 workers and that as soon as all the workers are back at work, both the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and Implats will meet to engage on all outstanding issues," the NUM said in a statement.

The union urged all workers to return to work next week and said it would call for a general strike at Implats should the company fail to deliver on its promises to re-hire all of the dismissed employees.

Since the strike began, the price of platinum, a key ingredient in catalytic converters in cars, has climbed nearly 9 percent, in part because of fears about supply disruptions. South Africa is home to 80 percent of global platinum reserves.