Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) today warned that security at its operations in South Africa has worsened as strikes over pay spread to a new mine.
The world’s biggest producer of platinum said staff at its mine in the Limpopo province reported for work but refused to go underground, instead presenting a list of demands, including one for a pay rise.
The latest unrest follows a two-week strike that has affected its four mines in Rustenburg, which employ more than 20,000 staff.
The Limpopo dispute means that as many as 75,000 miners, or about 15% of the South African mining workforce, are on strike, threatening already shaky growth in Africa’s biggest economy.
Seven weeks of unrest in the industry have left more than 40 people dead, and raised questions about the government’s inability to address widening inequality.
