September 27, 2012 GoldCore update from Mark OByrne:
In South Africa, gold mine strikes ceased nearly 39% of production,
at AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (ANG) and Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI), as labour
walkouts spread across the country amid demands for above-inflation pay
increases.
Today, AngloGold, the world’s 3rd largest gold producer, said all of
its South African mines have been stopped. Gold Fields lost nearly
32,000 ounces, or metric ton, of output because of strikes at its KDC
and Beatrix sites. The Kopanang mine was shut down after a strike last
week that began with 5,000 workers, and AngloGold decided to halt all
South African operations as most of its 35,000 employees have joined the
industrial action.
In addition to the mining strike there is also a transport strike.
More than 20,000 freight transport workers are also on strike,
demanding a wage increase of 12%, reports the South African Press
Association. Unions rejected an offer of a staggered increase of 8.5%
next March followed by an additional 0.5% in September, SAPA said.
The Lonmin Plc’s Marikana platinum mine northwest of Johannesburg
endured a six-week strike that took 46 lives and concluded last week
with miners receiving pay increases of almost 22%, which is four times
the country’s August inflation rate.
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