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Africa Mining

South Africa’s union war for platinum and how the miners got it wrong – by Ed Stoddard (Mineweb.com – August 20, 2012)

www.mineweb.com

Industry insiders, companies and unions know the sector has some very tough decisions to make, but it’s not just platinum that is at risk.

LYDENBURG, South Africa (Reuters) –  South Africa’s platinum promise of prosperity has turned into a heap of broken dreams for Vusimuzi Mathosi, one of 2,000 workers laid off by Aquarius Platinum at its Everest Mine.
 
“This place can only be sustained with platinum. What can we do now?,” he told Reuters near the one-room box he and his family call home in a dilapidated township on the outskirts of Lydenburg, 300 km (180 miles) east of Johannesburg.
 
He belongs to the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU), whose b loody turf war for members with the dominant National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) was the backdrop to Thursday’s killing of 34 striking platinum miners by police at the Marikana mine.

When Aquarius, the world’s 4th largest producer of the precious metal, closed production at Everest, it cited worsening industrial relations stemming from the AMCU/NUM battle which has turned workers into warriors across the platinum sector.

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A potential powder keg for miners and investors as police kill 34 striking workers [South Africa] – by Danny Deadlock (Stockhouse.com – August 17, 2012)

http://www.stockhouse.com/index.aspx
 
Institutional and retail investors are (wisely) avoiding many countries because of political risk – including risk of resource nationalization and heavy-handed taxation. But what happened in Marikana, South Africa this week is an entirely different ball game.

As you likely saw in the media, 34 people were killed when police opened fire on 3000 striking platinum mine workers who failed to leave. Many were carrying machetes or sticks and apparently the police felt threatened. Someone made the decision to open fire with automatic weapons and in doing so, they have potentially created problems for the entire mining industry of Africa.
 
This may be hard to relate to if you live in the city or have never dealt with the unionized mining industry, but around the world mine workers share a common bond. During the 1990’s, I worked in the Canadian mining industry and even the difference between mountain mine workers and prairie mine workers can be dramatically different. But when the smoke settles, they will fight tooth and nail to support their fellow union workers.
 
During mine disasters or funerals, mine unions will typically send representatives and this was evident during the highly-televised underground mine disaster in Chile (Aug 2010). Mine workers from around the world flew in to help and lend moral support.

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South Africa mine shooting leaves 34 dead and a nation reeling – by Geoffrey York (Globe and Mail – August 18, 2012)

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

One of the bloodiest police shootings since the days of apartheid has killed 34 miners and injured 78 at a South African platinum mine, leaving the nation in crisis and searching its soul over the rising levels of violent protest and police brutality.

South African President Jacob Zuma cut short a foreign tour, abandoning a regional summit in Mozambique to rush to the mine site. Politicians condemned the shooting, while the South African media called it a massacre and analysts accused the police of an excessive response to the striking mineworkers.

Mr. Zuma later announced that he will set up a commission of inquiry into the shootings at the Lonmin mine near Rustenburg. He said the entire country was “saddened and dismayed” by the “shocking” deaths. “The inquiry will enable us to get to the real cause of the incident,” he said.

The police opened fire with automatic rifles and pistols on Thursday when confronted by an advancing mob of mineworkers. Early reports suggested that as many as 18 people were killed, but on Friday the police announced that 34 were killed, 78 injured and 259 were arrested.

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Young and dying: the scandal of artisanal mining [in Africa] – by Geoffrey York (Globe and Mail – August 18, 2012)

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

With his Hulk cartoon T-shirt and his solemn face, Stephane Kapenda looks even younger and smaller than his 12 years. He knows he shouldn’t be here. But for years he has hauled tainted soil from this toxic waste pit into dirty pools of water so that he can search for bits of copper.

“It’s bad,” he says quietly. “I would like to leave it and go to school.” Asked what is the worst thing about the work, he thinks for a moment and then whispers: “The sickness.”

Twice, the effects of heavy-metal contamination have been so severe that he needed hospital treatment. Yet he keeps at it, alongside his siblings, to scrounge a tiny income for his parents – impoverished farmers who could not otherwise survive.

About 200 to 300 children toil daily in this vast open pit, a bleak wasteland outside a copper and zinc mine at Kipushi in the southeastern corner of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, near the Zambian border.

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Potential impact of SA mine violence on platinum – and perhaps on gold too – by Lawrence Williams (Mineweb.com – August 17, 2012)

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The massacre at Lonmin’s Marikana platinum mine has huge implications for the country’s struggling platinum mining sector. Could it spread to the gold mines too?

LONDON (Mineweb) –  Nearly 50 years ago when I worked there on the mines, Rustenburg in South Africa used to be a relatively sleepy small town some 160 km from Johannesburg where big city dwellers would repair for a quiet weekend  at tourist resort Retief’s Kloof and farmers grew oranges, despite it being the site of Rustenburg Platinum Mines (then run by JCI) then and now still the world’s largest platinum mine.

Nowadays, with the expansion of the platinum sector, first with Impala and then with Lonrho (now Lonmin), Aquarius and others, the sleepy town has changed out of all recognition as the platinum mining industry expanded, and expanded.  Anglo American, which was a major shareholder in JCI, effectively decimated the latter company and absorbed Rustenburg Platinum into Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) and the town became even more the centre of the world for platinum mining and for exploration on the Bushveld Complex Western limb, which accounts for most of South Africa’s platinum output.
 
Nowadays the orange groves have virtually all disappeared and it is doubtful if many tourists from Jo’burg would consider the relatively short drive to the Rustenburg town for a weekend’s relaxation – at least not in the town itself – although the surrounding area – particularly the Magaliesburg and the Bushveld – remains a most attractive destination. 

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A country fractures: from the mines, a killing field in South Africa – by Geoffrey York (Globe and Mail – August 17, 2012)

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

JOHANNESBURG — The wild volley of gunfire erupted for less than three minutes. When it was over, at least seven bodies – and perhaps as many as 18 – lay in pools of blood on a dusty South African hilltop.It took just a brief burst of gunfire to expose all of the worst ills of post-apartheid South Africa: a volatile cocktail of poverty, labour militancy, police brutality, industrial decline and an increasingly angry and radicalized population.

The deadly clash between police and striking workers on Thursday was the latest chapter in a saga of mounting violence in South Africa’s mining sector – historically the biggest employer in the country, but now in serious decline.

The assault by enraged mineworkers, which sparked the final volley of gunfire, should have been no surprise to the police. It followed a week of bloodshed at the Marikana platinum mine, about 70 kilometres northwest of Johannesburg, owned by London-based Lonmin.

Up to 3,000 police, backed by helicopters and armoured vehicles, have been facing off against about 3,000 striking workers, many of whom were carrying machetes, iron rods and wooden sticks.

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For Barrick, Tanzanian mines lose their lustre – by Geoffrey York (Globe and Mail – August 17, 2012)

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

JOHANNESBURG — Barrick Gold Corp.’s mining operations in Africa have been a publicity nightmare for the company for years, but until now the company had always seemed confident that the mines were profitable enough to withstand the damage to its reputation.

With a steady drumbeat of violent clashes and civilian deaths in recent years, the company’s North Mara gold mine in Tanzania has been one of the most controversial Barrick mines in the world.

Protesters and activists in Canada and Tanzania have accused Barrick of turning a blind eye to human rights abuses at its African mines. Last year alone, at least five villagers were shot dead at North Mara when they invaded the site to steal waste rock.

A report by a respected Tanzanian group, the Legal and Human Rights Centre, concluded that 19 villagers were killed by police and security guards at North Mara from the beginning of 2009 to the middle of 2010. (Barrick says it disagrees with this estimate but won’t provide its own estimate.)

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Lonmin Mine Death Toll Reaches 34 as Police Kill Strikers – by Matthew Hill and Robert Brand (Bloomberg Business Week -August 17, 2012)

http://www.businessweek.com/

South African police killed 34 striking workers at Lonmin Plc (LMI)’s Marikana platinum-mining complex yesterday, the worst death toll in police action since the end of apartheid in 1994.

In addition to the dead 78 people were injured and 259 arrested, Riah Phiyega, the country’s police commissioner, told reporters at the mine today. Six firearms were recovered from protesters including one that had belonged to a police officer murdered in earlier violence at the mine this week, she said.

Violence erupted yesterday after police used tear gas and live ammunition to disperse thousands of workers gathered on a hilltop near the mine. Clashes between rival labor unions at the mine led to a six-day standoff with police in which 10 people had already died, including two officers. Police say they acted in self-defense yesterday after coming under attack from the workers armed with spears, machetes and pistols.

“There was absolutely nothing else police could have done,” Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa said in an interview with Johannesburg’s 702 Talk Radio. “People should not ignore the laws of the land.”

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South Africa police open fire at striking mine workers – by Jon Gambrell (Associated Press/Globe and Mail – August 17, 2012)

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

JOHANNESBURG — South African police opened fire Thursday on a crowd of striking miners that charged a line of officers trying to disperse them, killing some and wounding others in one of the worst shootings by authorities since the end of the apartheid era.

Police declined to offer casualty figures after the shooting at the Lonmin PLC mine near Marikana, a dusty town about 70 kilometers northwest of Johannesburg. However, the main South African news agency, SAPA, has reported that 18 people have been killed. Police ministry spokesman Zweli Mnisi acknowledged late Thursday some of the miners there had died as more police and soldiers surrounded the hostels and shacks near Lonmin’s shuttered platinum mine.

The shooting happened Thursday afternoon after police failed to get the striking miners to hand over machetes, clubs and other weapons. Some miners did leave, though others carrying weapons began war chants and soon started marching toward the township near the mine, said Molaole Montsho, a journalist with the South African Press Association who was at the scene.

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RPT-Striking platinum miners confront S.Africa police – by Siphiwe Sibeko (Reuters – August 15, 2012)

http://af.reuters.com/

MARIKANA, South Africa Aug 15 (Reuters) – Thousands of striking miners armed with machetes and sticks faced off with South African police on Wednesday at Lonmin’s Marikana mine after it halted production following the deaths of 10 people in fighting between rival unions.

Lonmin, the world’s third-largest platinum producer, has threatened to sack 3,000 rock drill operators if they fail to end a wildcat pay strike that started on Friday at Marikana, its flagship mine 100 km (60 miles) northwest of Johannesburg.

The illegal stay-away and the union clashes have forced London-headquartered Lonmin to halt mining at all its operations in South Africa, which account for 12 percent of global platinum output. South Africa has 80 percent of known platinum reserves.

On Wednesday, scores of police backed by helicopters lined up opposite a crowd of around 2,500 miners who had taken up position on a rocky outcrop overlooking the mine. “The situation is stable but tense. We are busy with negotiations and are maintaining a high visibility in the area,” national police spokesman Dennis Adrio said.

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[South Africa platinum] Lonmin mine’s union crisis calms – by Sapa/Reuters (Mail and Guardian – August 15, 2012)

http://mg.co.za/

Police say no further incidents have been reported at Lonmin’s violence-stricken Marikana mine in the North West, where 10 people have been killed. “Police have been monitoring the situation at the mine throughout Tuesday night,” Captain Dennis Adriao said on Wednesday morning. “We have not received any reports of violence or deaths.”
 
Violence erupted when about 3 000 Lonmin rock drill operators started an illegal work stoppage and protest march on Friday at the company’s Western Platinum mine. It was the deadliest violence yet in a union membership turf war between the dominant National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the newer Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU).
 
A tenth body was found on Tuesday. A South African Press Association reporter who was on the scene said the body was lying face upwards 100m away from a hilltop where workers gathered earlier on Tuesday. The man was wearing khaki clothes.
 
Nine other people – two police officers, two security guards, three protesters and two other men – have been killed in the violent protests since Friday.

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Days of drilling and blasting coming to an end -AngloGold – by Christy Filen (Mineweb.com – August 7, 2012)

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AngloGold has forced itself to think differently about deep level mining and this, they are hoping, will spawn an operating section employing the new technology by end 2013.

JOHANNESBURG (Mineweb) – When Apple launched the iPad, it didn’t just alter the numbers spinning about on its profit line, it changed the technology industry.
 
And if AngloGold Ashanti executive vice president of business strategy, Canadian engineer, Mike MacFarlane is to be believed the gold digger is looking to do something similar to deep level gold mining.
 
Since 2010, the group has been looking for ways to leverage old technology in new ways to mine gold even deeper than the current depths around 4kms. And, it is now aiming to introduce a new operating section at AngloGold by the end of 2013 that moves away from the conventional drill and blast methodology to one where the ore bearing reef is extracted with modified raise bore drills.
 
The raise bore drill, called an Amtek, is currently undergoing testing and is sourced locally in South Africa from a company called Atlantis.

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Q&A with ‘Anti-Bono’ Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo [China resource competition] – by Rick Westhead (Toronto Star – July 29, 2012)

The Toronto Star, has the largest circulation in Canada. The paper has an enormous impact on federal and Ontario politics as well as shaping public opinion.

Q: How long did you research and report your book?
 
A: It took me about three years. I did probably 80 interviews with hedge funds, policy makers. Of those, probably 30 interviews were with Chinese officials. I spend about 80 per cent of my time in developing markets. I’m in Africa once a quarter and China two or three times a year. So over the course of writing the book, I probably spend three or four months in China. I felt like I had a good connection with people. I’ve seen Chinese mines, been on their oil rigs.
 
Q: China’s Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has said that without reforms China could face another Cultural Revolution. It’s very strong language from such as prominent leader. Did you get a sense from your time in China of what kind of opposition the government faces?
 
A: Not in the way you or I think about it, but there’s been a lot of transformation in China’s political system while we haven’t been watching. We are all sort of hyper-focused on issues like: are they going to have democratic elections where every Chinese stands in a line, queues around the block and elects a president? While we’ve been focused on that, there have been a whole lot of reforms going on.

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SEC conflict minerals rule foot-dragging a nightmare-GAO – by Dorothy Kosich (Mineweb.com – July 24, 2012)

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The longer the SEC delays adoption of a final conflict minerals rule, the worse the situation becomes for global manufacturers voluntarily trying to keep conflict minerals out of supply chains.

RENO (MINEWEB) – A performance audit by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) has found the continued delay of the SEC to issue a final conflict minerals rule has contributed to “a lingering uncertainty among industry and other stakeholders” who have tried to implement voluntary conflict minerals supply chain initiatives.
 
In a recent report to the U.S. Congress, the GAO noted “the uncertainty regarding SEC’s reporting and due diligence requirements” has complicated the efforts of industry associations, multilateral organizations, and others who have developed global and in-region sourcing initiatives to help companies comply with future rules regarding conflict minerals.
 
Congress has pressured the SEC on two fronts to adopt rules relating to conflict minerals and resource extraction. In a June 22 letter to the SEC, 58 members of Congress urged the commission to implement Sections 1502 and 1504 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which require public companies to make disclosures relating to the use of conflict minerals and payments made for mining of resources.

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Swansong of a sunset industry or the rise of an SA gold mid-tier? – by Geoff Candy (Mineweb.com – July 17, 2012)

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Just like the landscape of Johannesburg, South Africa’s gold mining sector is undergoing a dramatic change, the question is: what will it end up looking like?

GRONINGEN (Mineweb) –  Mine dumps loomed large over my childhood. Growing up in the east rand of Johannesburg, a stone’s throw away from the ERPM mine operations, they were a part of my skyline. When we were kids we went to the drive-in on top of them and, later on, tried to “dune board” down them. But, in the last few years they have gradually begun to disappear.
 
As the gold price has risen and mines have got deeper, so many of these dumps have been re-drilled and reprocessed but, it is not just the landscape that is changing – the industry that gave birth to Africa’s “city of gold” is changing right along with it.
 
“The cynical among us might describe it as rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic,” says Bernard Swanepoel, Joint CEO of Village Main Reef, one of the new class of junior gold miners coming up in South Africa at the moment.

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