Post date: Aug 13, 2012 7:22:0 PM
RUSTENBURG, SOUTH AFRICA ( AUGUST 13, 2012) (SABC) - Nine people including a police officer have been killed in clashes between unions at a South African mine operated by platinum producer Lonmin, in the most deadly round of violence in an eight-month turf war rocking the sector.
Nine people have been killed in clashes between rival unions at a South African mine owned by leading platinum producer Lonmin.
The clashes surround a struggle for membership between the dominant National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the upstart Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU).
A policeman died from wounds caused by a machete, while another officer attacked in the same incident suffered serious injuries.
Lonmin said the situation remained volatile at its Western Platinum mine, 100 kilometres northwest of Johannesburg. The plant was operating at reduced capacity and was under heavy police guard.
The company's Vice President Barnard Mokwena said the violence was distressing.
''To our surprise we have not received any memorandum or grievances which is the normal practice. Further to that we don't know who these people are, we don't know their names, they have not presented themselves as representing groups of employees and as such we are so concerned because they seem to emanate from informal settlements. They seem to organise themselves there. They seem to have their meetings there in the dark after hours, they seem to be mobilise from the informal settlements and then march on to our operations,'' said Mr Mokwena.
The mine is part of Lonmin's Marikana operations, which produced 1.3 million ounces of platinum group metals in 2011. Company officials could not say how much production had been lost but they are expected to update the market later this week.
In London, Lonmin shares were down more than 1.5 percent.