The country is the best source for metals critical for making lower-emission vehicles.
In May, security officials confronted 500 protesters at a chromium mine in Rustenburg, South Africa. Rubber bullets were fired, and 10 people were hospitalized. This is just the latest in a series of wildcat strikes turned violent in South African mines. Most notably, 34 miners died during a confrontation between miners and police in August at a platinum mine in Marikana.
These strikes are the result of rapidly deteriorating labor relations in the South African mining industry. Mining companies are facing increased financial pressure from rising costs and low global metal prices. They must also contend with rolling blackouts, which is crucial in the energy-intensive mining industry. This harms routine mining production and profits. As a result of these difficulties, companies are considering downsizing and laying off workers in an attempt to return to profitability.
Understandably, mine workers are not happy about the possibility of losing their jobs. They are also demanding higher wages because their salaries are not keeping up with the rapidly rising cost of living. To top this all off, rival labor unions are attempting to win workers’ support by making seemingly impossible-to-meet demands of mining companies. For instance, the National Union of Mineworkers wants to increase wages for gold and coal miners up to 60 percent.
The rival Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union—which has successfully poached enough members from the NUM to represent a majority of platinum miners—is expected to put in similarly ambitious wage demands.