Anglo American job warning over S.African mines unrest

The world’s number one platinum producer Anglo American Platinum warned Friday that South Africa faced the risk of significant job losses due to growing unrest in its mining sector.

“We as a country, as an industry, should be focusing on getting solutions going forward because the industry is actually at risk especially in the operations in the Rustenburg area,” Bongani Nqwababa, finance director of Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) told SAFM public radio.

“The focus should be on job conservation because the risk of significant job losses is very, very high.”

Amplats on Wednesday became the second mining giant to be hit by strikes in the Rustenburg platinum belt where it employs 24,000 people, shutting down five mines over safety fears after intimidation threats on miners going to work.

Nearby Lonmin, the world’s number three platinum producer, has been paralysed by a militant strike in which 45 people have died since August 10.

“It’s an industry wide issue and there’s contagion. It’s an industry issue,” said Nqwababa.

The labour strife has also spread outside of platinum to the gold sector where 15,000 Gold Fields miners have been striking since Sunday.

Amplats workers had handed a memorandum of demands to management on Thursday.

Nqwababa said the demands were the same as what the company had received a few weeks ago and which was set to go into mediation on September 25.

The memorandum was handed over after thousands of workers rallied to deepen their strike.

“It’s obviously tense and unfortunate, and the immediate focus should be saftey of our people, public safety, lowering the temperatures and making sure that we approach this in a sober minded and constructive manner for the good of the industry and for the good of the country,” said Nqwababa.

The backbone of South Africa’s economy, the mining industry directly hires around 500,000 people and contributes up to nearly one fifth of GDP when related activities are included.