Two more people are dead in incidents that appear to be linked to the ongoing strike at Sibanye Gold Ltd. gold operations in South Africa.

"One of the guys was stabbed in the hostel and then a body was found at our settling ponds in the Free State," said Sibanye spokesperson James Wellsted, referring to infrastructure around its Beatrix gold mine.

The deaths happened over the past week or so and bring to three the number of people that have died since the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union, or AMCU, began striking Nov. 21, Wellsted told S&P Global Market Intelligence.

An employee died at the outset of the strike, leading Sibanye to shut down operations.

Wellsted said the circumstances around the deaths were unclear, but it was likely there was a link to the strike, with police investigating.

The South African Labour Court recently granted an interdict against the AMCU and another union, preventing them from committing acts of violence, stopping other employees from going to work and interfering with other parties associated with the company and its operations.

Meanwhile, a labor commission ruled Nov. 30 on where and how AMCU members can picket, issuing guidelines that Sibanye had sought but that are opposed by the AMCU.

"AMCU will contest these picketing guidelines as they are not in the interest of AMCU's protected strike," the union tweeted Nov. 30.

Rules constrain picketing to between 7:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., ban singing on the way to striking areas, ban striking near Kloof Consolidated and Driefontein Consolidated working areas and limit gatherings to under 500 workers, the AMCU said in a series of tweets Nov. 30.

Wellsted said the rules were necessary to protect workers at its operations.

While the AMCU has opposed a wage deal, other unions have agreed to a Sibanye offer that, among other things, increases pay. The company has vowed not to increase its offer.

Talks between Sibanye and the AMCU have so far been limited to resolving striking parameters to avoid violence, Wellsted said.

"We can't negotiate or even begin negotiating when there's this kind of violence and intimidation taking place," he said.

Meanwhile, it remains unclear if the strike at Sibanye's gold operations will expand. The AMCU has suggested it may grow the strike to include platinum operations.

Wellsted said there was no known movement in that direction so far. "No, we haven't seen that yet."