Lonmin in plea to its investors

The beleaguered South African platinum miner Lonmin has made an impassioned plea to investors to support its $817m (£514m) rights issue, with a stark warning that its future would be in jeopardy if they didn't.

The FTSE 250 miner has been struggling for months amid a violent six-week strike at its key Marikana mine and a weak platinum price.

Last week, Lonmin said it plunged to a $698m loss for the year to September, as it scrapped its dividend and launched the rights issue at a 45 per cent discount.