Violent S. Africa mine protest leads to fatalities [1]
San Francisco Chronicle
JON GAMBRELL, Associated Press, August 14, 2012
Striking mineworkers sit on a rocky outcropping near their shuttered platinum mine, Lonmin Platinum Mine near Rustenburg, South Africa, Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012. The unrest over pay and dueling unions has killed at least 10 people and represents a sign of the unrest gripping South Africa’s mining industry. Barnard O. Mokwena, an execute vice president for Lonmin, said the company continued to meet with the police regarding the unrest. On Tuesday, operations appeared at a standstill at a facility that represents 96 per cent of all production for the world’s third largest platinum producer. Photo: Denis Farrell / AP
MARIKANA, South Africa (AP) — Thousands of angry South African workers met Tuesday on a rocky cliff within sight of their platinum mine shuttered by violent protests, shouting demands for more pay over the roar of circling police and military helicopters.
As authorities pleaded for calm, the men trekked there from the simple hostels and shacks near the Lonmin PLC [2] mine, carrying pipes, clubs and machetes across the barren fields with high-tension electrical wires overhead.
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Category:
- Freedom Project [4]