Johannesburg - Lonmin, the world’s third-largest platinum provider, said employees did not report for the early shift at its Marikana mine after refusing to go underground yesterday following the assassination of a union official.
“The earliest shift to return would be the night shift” if workers and the company reached an agreement, Lonmin spokeswoman Sue Vey said by phone today.
The company, which employs 27,000 people and 10,000 contractors, will meet with workers later today, she said.
The latest disturbance at the mine near Rustenburg, 120 kilometres (75 miles) northwest of Johannesburg, comes after last week’s murder of Mawethu Khululekile Stevens, a local organiser for the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union.
Four men entered a tavern and shot him as he watched television, the South African Press Association said, citing police.
Violence at the mine in August that erupted from a dispute over pay left at least 44 people dead, including about 34 who shot dead by police on a single day, 70 injured and led to about 250 arrests.
A lengthy strike could threaten Lonmin’s forecasts of increased output after saying this week that it plans to exceed production of 700,000 ounces of platinum metals in concentrate this year after the 2012 strikes cut volumes and raised costs.
Lonmin fell 6.4 percent to 37.70 rand in Johannesburg yesterday, the lowest since May 2.
Anglo American Platinum, the biggest producer, declined 3.8 percent to 301 rand, the worst level since September, 2005, while Impala Platinum dropped 5.1 percent to 98.89 rand, its lowest since November, 2008.
The rand weakened less than 0.1 percent to 9.2407 per dollar by 8:15 a.m. in Johannesburg, its lowest level since April 2. - Bloomberg