Amplats unrest spreads to new mine

Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) has warned that security at its operations in South Africa has worsened as strikes over pay spread to a new mine. The world's biggest producer of platinum said staff at its mine in the Limpopo province reported for work yesterday but refused to go underground, instead presenting a list of demands, including one for a payrise.

The latest unrest follows a two-week strike that has affected Amplats' four mines in Rustenburg, which employ more than 20,000 and account for a fifth of its production.

The Limpopo dispute means that as many as 75,000 miners, or about 15 per cent of the South African mining workforce, are on strike, threatening already shaky growth in Africa's biggest economy.