There is the possibility of a strike at the DeBeer's mines in South Africa, one the largests on the continent. The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), an affiliate of COSATU, through a work stoppage could have a tremendous impact on the world economy.
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos
A worker casts an ingot of platinum at the Krastsvetmet nonferrous metals plant in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk
By Shapi Shacinda
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said on Wednesday its 21,000 members at Impala Platinum would stage a one-day work stoppage to protest the death of a miner at the company this week.
NUM spokesman Lesiba Seshoka said the stoppage at Impala Platinum (Implats), the world's second-largest producer of the metal, would highlight the union's concerns over safety.
"We have made a resolution to have a day's work-stoppage each time a colleague dies at Impala. We feel the company must do more to ensure safety," Seshoka said, without saying when it would act.
A miner died when the ground collapsed under his feet at shaft number 11 at Implats' Rustenburg mine, raising the death toll at the same shaft to three since the start of October.
Operations were suspended at the shaft on Monday, but an Implats spokesman said on Wednesday the company planned to resume blasting and drilling on Thursday or Friday.
South Africa, the world's largest platinum and ferrochrome producer and also the fourth-biggest gold producer, has a poor mining safety record compared with the industrialised world, partly because it has some of the deepest mines.
Last year 165 miners died in South African mines. About 106 miners have died this year, according to NUM.
Implats spokesman Bob Gilmour denied the company was ignoring safety, saying it was a "number one priority".
NUM has said the government should enact new laws to compel mining companies to uphold higher safety standards and prevent avoidable mine accidents and deaths.
But the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) said on Wednesday it conducted regular checks on mines and that existing laws were adequate.
2010-11-03 16:02:10
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